Attentional and eye tracking deficits correlate with negative symptoms in schizophrenia.
Thirty patients with a DSM-III-R diagnosis of schizophrenia were assessed for severity of schizophrenic symptoms using the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) and were tested on a Continuous Performance Test (CPT) and a smooth pursuit eye tracking task. Negative symptoms were significantly correlated with eye tracking impairment (r = 0.43, p < 0.01) and CPT deficits (r = 0.67, p < 0.001), but performance on neither task was correlated with positive symptoms. CPT performance and eye tracking performance were modestly correlated with each other (r = 0.39, p < 0.01) and CPT performance was found to be a stronger predictor of negative symptoms than eye tracking performance. These data indicate that neurocognitive markers of vulnerability to schizophrenia are associated with negative rather than positive symptoms.
Roitman
S E
SE
Department of Psychiatry, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY 10029, USA.
Keefe
R S
RS
Harvey
P D
PD
Siever
L J
LJ
Mohs
R C
RC
D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention; D005123:Eye / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D014888:Wechsler Scales