Saccade generation and suppression in schizophrenia: effects of response switching and perseveration.
Poor antisaccade performance is a reliable index of action control deficits in schizophrenia. To further elucidate the underlying cognitive impairments, the current study aimed to confirm effects of switching the response direction on saccadic performance and to investigate whether response switch effects relate to perseveration. Fourteen schizophrenia patients and 14 healthy controls performed sequences of 1 to 3 simple volitional saccades to one direction and a subsequent volitional saccade with distractor to the same or the opposite direction. Response switches increased error rates in schizophrenia if they followed 3 saccades to the opposite side, suggesting that response switching affects performance on conditions of strong persisting response programs. The increase of response switch error rates with multiple repetitions of the prior response points to a relationship between perseveration and response selection.
Institut für Psychologie, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 12489 Berlin, Germany. franke@hu-berlin.de
Cosima
C
Franke
Doris
D
Arndt
Christoph J
CJ
Ploner
Andreas
A
Heinz
Benedikt
B
Reuter
D000328:Adult; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D012438:Saccades / Q000502:physiology*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology