Abstract
Saccadic reaction time (RT) has been shown to be unimpaired in schizophrenia. Could this be due to its not requiring controlled information processing? The authors gave 49 schizophrenia patients and 34 controls manual and saccadic RT tasks with preparatory intervals of 1, 3, and 5 s given in regular and irregular sequences. If saccades require mainly automatic processes, they should not be affected by variations in the preparatory interval that are mediated by controlled processing. The manual task showed typical slower RT and larger preparatory interval effects in patients than in controls. Although the saccadic task showed significant effects of both the preparatory interval and the preparatory interval on the preceding trial similar in kind to those in manual RT, there were no group differences in these or in RT. The results are attributed to greater stimulus-response compatibility in the saccadic task, which puts fewer demands on working memory.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
