The effect of sensory input on the reaction time of schizophrenic patients of good and poor premorbid history

Abstract

The reaction times of good premorbid and poor pre morbid schizophrenic patients and normal controls were measured under conditions of low, medium and high sensory input (noise). Poor premorbid subjects showed significant initial deficits that improved under conditions of increasing input, reaching normal levels under high input. These findings are congruent with previous research reporting significant biological and behavioral differences between process and reactive schizophrenics. They also clarify the previous findings of improvement in response efficiency reported for schizophrenics generally under conditions of sensory input.