The British Journal of Psychiatry 142: 477-481 (1983)
© 1983 The Royal College of Psychiatrists
Left hemisphere's inability to sustain attention over extended time periods in schizophrenics
S Niwa, K Hiramatsu, T Kameyama, O Saitoh, K Itoh and H Utena
Each hemisphere's ability to sustain attention over extended time periods
was investigated in 14 schizophrenics and 17 controls using dichotic
detection tasks. Schizophrenics produced significantly higher rates of
omission errors, as compared to that of commission errors. The rates of
omission errors for schizophrenics fluctuated markedly, while the rates of
commission errors remained fairly constant. Primarily due to the
fluctuation of omission errors, the detection index decreased progressively
when schizophrenics were engaged in right-ear tasks. These results suggest
that schizophrenics demonstrate a deficit concerning 'response set',
especially in the left hemisphere. It is feasible that there may be a
correlation with disturbances in integration mechanisms of both hemispheres
in schizophrenics.
