Information processing during eye tracking as revealed by event-related potentials in schizophrenics, alcoholics, and healthy controls

Abstract

To further explore the hypothesis that schizophrenics are more distractable and/or have reduced processing resources available, event-related potentials (ERPs) and smooth pursuit eye movements (SPEM) were investigated in 20 medicated schizophrenics, 19 detoxified chronic alcoholics, and in a control group of 20 healthy subjects. Groups were matched for age and education. Eye tracking tasks and auditory oddball tasks were performed separately as well as simultaneously. In addition, an eye tracking condition with a task-irrelevant tone sequence was used to assess the effect of distraction. Schizophrenics showed a trend for poorer SPEM performance; alcoholics had no dysfunction in this task. Tracking accuracy did not change in either group when additional auditory stimuli were presented. P300 latency was delayed in both schizophrenics and alcoholics. P300 amplitude showed no overall group difference but it increased during the dual task in normals whereas it remained constant in patients. N100 amplitude was generally larger during the more complex conditions indicating heightened unspecific arousal. It is suggested that normals use increased arousal to mobilize additional resources and to allocate them to stimulus evaluation but schizophrenics and alcoholics are unable to do so. Results are more conform to a limited resources concept than to a filter deficit model of cognitive disturbances in schizophrenia and alcoholism.