A PRELIMINARY-STUDY OF EXTERNALLY AND SELF-ORDERED TASK-PERFORMANCE IN SCHIZOPHRENIA

Frontal lobe dysfunctions are assumed to be involved in the cognitive problems of schizophrenia. The inability to plan or organize behavior, however, may be the result of an inability to process information (i. e., attention disorder) as well as of an incapacity of information pro cessing (i.e., overstimulation). Wiegersma et al. (1990) described imp aired performance in frontal lobe patients on self-ordered tasks (Rand omization Span and Sequential Pointing span) but intact performance on externally ordered tasks (Digit Span and Missing Item scan). These fo ur tasks were used in the present study in which ten schizophrenic pat ients and ten matched controls participated. The schizophrenic patient s exhibited significant impairments in the self-ordered as well as in the externally ordered tasks. It was concluded that the impairment of schizophrenic patients may be caused by overstimulation rather than by attention disorders.