ATTENTION AND SCHIZOPHRENIA - IMPAIRED MODULATION OF THE STARTLE REFLEX

The startle reflex (SR) elicited by abrupt stimuli can be modified by attention to nonstartling stimuli that shortly precede the startle-eli citing stimulus. The present study of 15 recent-onset, relatively asym ptomatic schizophrenic outpatients and 14 demographically matched norm al control subjects demonstrated that attentional modulation of SR is impaired in schizophrenic patients. Specifically, the control group ex hibited greater startle eye-blink modification following to-be-attende d prestimuli than following to-be-ignored prestimuli, whereas the pati ents failed to show the attentional modulation effect. These results s uggest traitlike attentional deficits in schizophrenia because the pat ients were relatively asymptomatic. The measurement of attentional mod ulation of SR may provide a nonverbal, reflexive, state-independent ma rker of the vulnerability to schizophrenia.