title: The simon effect in schizophrenic patients with negative symptoms.
abstract: Automatic shifting of visual attention was investigated using the Simon task in schizophrenic patients with prevailing negative symptomatology. Reaction times were recorded in condition of spatial correspondence and non-correspondence between side of spatially defined responses and side of stimulus presentation. Schizophrenic patients showed asymmetries between the two hemifields attributable to a slowing down of reaction times for non-corresponding trials in the left hemifield. These results are interpreted as a deficit in the process that inhibits the automatic corresponding response, and in general as a difficulty to inhibit dependence on external stimuli, in the left hemifield/right hemisphere.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Psicologia Generale, Università di Padova, Italia.
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gastaldo
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Umiltà
authors.forename: Gianluigi
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bianchin
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Prior
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004292:Dominance, Cerebral; D005260:Female; D005403:Fixation, Ocular; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D011930:Reaction Time; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology*