IMPAIRED MOTOR SKILL LEARNING IN SCHIZOPHRENIA - IMPLICATIONS FOR CORTICOSTRIATAL DYSFUNCTION

We assessed skill learning in young and older schizophrenic patients u sing the rotary pursuit task. Schizophrenic patients displayed impaire d learning on this task compared with normal control subjects, bur old er patients were not more impaired than young ones. The patients' rota ry pursuit learning was not correlated to the severity of abnormal mov ements or to their treatment with medication, but it was associated to conceptual abilities assessed on the Dementia Rating Scale (Mattis 19 88). An impairment in acquiring motor procedures in this task might re flect neuropsychological deficits associated with corticostriatal path ology.