title: Evidence for stimulus-general impairments on auditory stream segregation tasks in schizophrenia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Auditory impairments in schizophrenia have been demonstrated previously, especially for tasks requiring precise encoding of frequency, although it is unclear the extent to which they have difficulty using pitch information and other cues to segregate sounds. We determined the extent to which those with schizophrenia have difficulty using pitch information and other auditory cues to segregate sounds that are presented sequentially.
  
  
  METHODS
  Ten participants with schizophrenia and nine healthy/normal control participants completed a battery of tasks that tested for the ability to perform sequential auditory stream segregation using pitch, amplitude modulation, or inter-aural phase difference as cues to segregation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All three sequential segregation tasks showed reduced tendency for those with schizophrenia to perceive segregated sounds, compared to control participants.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings extend prior research by demonstrating a general impairment on sequential sound segregation tasks in schizophrenia, and not just on tasks that require precise encoding of frequency. Together, the pattern of results provide evidence that auditory impairments in schizophrenia result from selective abnormalities in neural circuits that carry out specific computations necessary for stream segregation, as opposed to an impairment in processing specific cues.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV 89154-5030, USA.
authors.forename: Erin M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Ramage
authors.forename: David M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Weintraub
authors.forename: Daniel N
authors.initials: DN
authors.lastname: Allen
authors.forename: Joel S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Snyder
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001308:Auditory Perceptual Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003463:Cues; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010898:Pitch Perception / Q000502:physiology; D011571:Psychoacoustics; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013997:Time Factors