LATERALIZED VISUAL-FIELD INATTENTION IN SCHIZOPHRENIA

Numerous studies have shown impaired verbal functioning in schizophren ic patients as compared with normals. The verbal deficits are generall y attributed to damage of the left cerebral hemisphere. This attributi on is based on literature which suggests that verbal processing is pri marily mediated by the left hemisphere in right-handed humans. This st udy explored left-hemispheric integrity directly by assessing sustaine d attention in both the left and right hemispheres of 40 schizophrenic patients with the Weintraub Cancellation Tasks. Patients made signifi cantly more errors of omission on the right visual field than on the l eft. These results are consistent with cognitive research in schizophr enia by demonstrating selective left-hemispheric impairment relative t o right-hemispheric functioning.