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Maurice Rappaport, MD; H. Kenneth Hopkins, MS; Karyl Hall, MA

Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1972;27(6):747-752.

Abstract
Differences in auditory signal detection between paranoid and nonparanoid schizophrenics were examined on and off phenothiazine medication.

Compared to normals: (1) paranoids detected signals less accurately and used more conservative decision-making criteria; (2) nonparanoids detected signals less accurately under easy signal-to-noise (S/N) conditions but as well as normals under difficult conditions, they were neither more nor less conservative in the criteria they adopted; and (3) paranoid and nonparanoid subjects had a constant number of commission errors under all S/N conditions, while normals showed an increase with each decrease in S/N ratio.

No significant overall effect of phenothiazine medication on the signal-detection performance of schizophrenics was found. A significant interaction between dosage level and diagnosis was found. The signal-detection measure (d') does not appear to be a direct measure of sensory sensitivity in schizophrenics.

Author Affiliations
San Jose, Calif

From Agnews State Hospital, San Jose, Calif.

Footnotes
Accepted for publication July 3, 1972.

Read as a preliminary report at the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology Meeting, San Juan, Puerto Rico, December 1970.

This paper has not been reviewed for publication by the Department of Mental Hygiene and the authors are solely responsible for the content.

Reprint requests to Agnews State Hospital, Department of Mental Hygiene, San Jose, Calif 95114 (Dr. Rappaport).

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