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Left Hemisphere's Inability to Sustain Attention over Extended Time Periods in Schizophrenics

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

Shin-ichi Niwa ,
Ken-ichi Hiramatsu ,
Tomomichi Kameyama ,
Osamu Saitoh ,
Kenji Itoh  and
Hiroshi Utena
Shin-ichi Niwa
Affiliation:
Department of Neuropsychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Bunkyo, Tokyo, 113, Japan
Ken-ichi Hiramatsu
Affiliation:
Department of Neuropsychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Bunkyo, Tokyo, 113, Japan
Tomomichi Kameyama
Affiliation:
Department of Neuropsychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Bunkyo, Tokyo, 113, Japan
Osamu Saitoh
Affiliation:
Research Institute of Logopedics and Phoniatrics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Bunkyo, Tokyo, 113, Japan
Kenji Itoh
Affiliation:
Research Institute of Logopedics and Phoniatrics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Bunkyo, Tokyo, 113, Japan
Hiroshi Utena
Affiliation:
Yamada Hospital, Chofu, Tokyo, 182, Japan
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Summary

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.

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 142 , Issue 5 , May 1983 , pp. 477 - 481
Copyright
Copyright © 1983 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

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