INTERMITTENT DEGRADATION AND SCHIZOTYPY.
Intermittent degradation refers to transient detrimental disruptions in task performance. This phenomenon has been repeatedly observed in the performance data of patients with schizophrenia. Whether intermittent degradation is a feature of the liability for schizophrenia (i.e., schizotypy) is an open question. Further, the specificity of intermittent degradation to schizotypy has yet to be investigated. To address these questions, 92 undergraduate participants completed a battery of self-report questionnaires assessing schizotypy and psychological state variables (e.g., anxiety, depression), and their reaction times were recorded as they did so. Intermittent degradation was defined as the number of times a subject's reaction time for questionnaire items met or exceeded three standard deviations from his or her mean reaction time after controlling for each item's information processing load. Intermittent degradation scores were correlated with questionnaire scores. Our results indicate that intermittent degradation is associated with total scores on measures of positive and disorganized schizotypy, butunrelatedto total scores on measures of negative schizotypy and psychological state variables. Intermittent degradation is interpreted as potentially derivative of schizotypy and a candidate endophenotypic marker worthy of continued research.
Department of Psychology, Binghamton University, State University of New York, Binghamton, NY 13902-6000.
Matthew W
MW
Roché
Division of Schizophrenia Research, University Behavioral Health Care, Rutgers University, Biomedical and Health Sciences, 151 Centennial Avenue, Piscataway, NJ 08854 ; Department of Psychiatry, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Rutgers University, 671 Hoes Lane, Piscataway, NJ 08854.
Steven M
SM
Silverstein
Department of Psychology, Binghamton University, State University of New York, Binghamton, NY 13902-6000 ; Department of Psychiatry, Weill Cornell Medical College, 525 East 68 Street, New York, NY 10065.
Mark F
MF
Lenzenweger