Abstract
Background. It is important to prepare response in advance to increase the efficiency of its execution. The process of response preparation is usually studied using the precueing paradigm. In this paradigm subjects have to employ the preceding information about further imperative stimulus to perform proper response preparation, which shortens the reaction time of subsequent response execution. Previous studies detected the impairment of response preparation in schizophrenia only with the help of electroencephalographic parameters, but not with the assessing of reaction time. Therefore, in this study we attempted to find a behavioural parameter that could detect impairment in response preparation of schizophrenia patients. It was recently found that appropriate response preparation not only shortens the reaction time but also increases its stability, which is measured with the intra-individual reaction time variability. It was also revealed that response stability could better find cognitive dysfunction in some studies of schizophrenia disorder than classical behavioural parameters. Hence, the main goal of this study was to verify if intra-individual reaction time variability could detect the impairment of response preparation in schizophrenia patients.
Materials and methods. In order to achieve the main purpose, we carried out a study with 14 schizophrenia patients and 14 control group subjects. We used precueing paradigm in our research, in which participants had to employ information about stimulus probability for the proper response preparation.
Results. Our main result showed that despite the responses of schizophrenia patients were faster to the high-probability stimulus than to the low-probability one (F (1, 13) = 30.9, p < 0.001), intra-individual reaction time variability did not differ in this group between the responses to more and less probable stimuli (F (1, 13) = 0.64, p = 0.44).
Conclusions. Results of the study suggest that people with schizophrenia were able to use precueing probabilistic information only to shorten their reaction time, but not to increase response stability. Therefore, it was found that intra-individual reaction time variability parameter could detect response preparation impairment in schizophrenia, and could be used in clinical purposes.
Downloads
Download data is not yet available.
Most read articles by the same author(s)
-
Elena MONCEVIČIŪTĖ-ERINGIENĖ,
Natural immunity to evolutionary atavistic endotoxin in carcinogenesis induced by chemical agents (a hypothesis)
,
Acta medica Lituanica: Vol. 19 No. 1 (2012)
-
Jean-Michel Arnal,
Aude Garnero,
Lung recruitment in ARDS patients
,
Acta medica Lituanica: Vol. 19 No. 3 (2012)
-
Aušra ČERNIAUSKIENĖ,
Feliksas JANKEVIČIUS,
Botulinum toxin therapy for nonneurogenic overactive bladder: first experience
,
Acta medica Lituanica: Vol. 18 No. 3 (2011)
-
Raimonda Piškinienė,
Mantas Banevičius,
Complications of orbital endoimplantation in the Eye Clinic of the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences
,
Acta medica Lituanica: Vol. 24 No. 2 (2017)
-
Vaineta Valeikienė,
Algirdas Juozulynas,
Rasa Savičiūtė,
Algirdas Venalis,
Antanas Jurgelėnas,
Quality of life in rural and urban patients with Parkinson’s disease
,
Acta medica Lituanica: Vol. 20 No. 2 (2013)
-
Rasa Aurelija Vankevičiūtė,
Arijanda Neverauskienė,
Evaldas Lukoševičius,
Fibro-osseous lesions of craniofacial bones in children: case reports
,
Acta medica Lituanica: Vol. 20 No. 2 (2013)
-
Daimantas MILONAS,
Giedrė SMAILYTĖ,
Darius TRUMBECKAS,
Mindaugas JIEVALTAS,
Oncological outcomes of surgery in very high risk pT3b prostate cancer
,
Acta medica Lituanica: Vol. 18 No. 3 (2011)
-
Darius Trepenaitis,
Tadas Česnaitis,
Andrius Macas,
Regional anaesthesia for postoperative pain management after liver resection
,
Acta medica Lituanica: Vol. 19 No. 3 (2012)
-
Jekabs Krastins,
Zane Straume,
Janis Auzins,
Aigars Petersons,
Aivars Petersons,
Incidence and outcome of acute kidney injury after open heart surgery in children
,
Acta medica Lituanica: Vol. 19 No. 3 (2012)
-
Ieva Stundienė,
Paulius Žeromskas,
Jonas Valantinas,
Transcutaneous tibial nerve stimulation for the treatment of faecal incontinence: results of a prospective study
,
Acta medica Lituanica: Vol. 21 No. 2 (2014)