Sensorimotor gating and thought disturbance measured in close temporal proximity in schizophrenic patients

Background: Sensorimotor gating abnormalities have been previously correlat ed with thought disturbance in schizophrenic patients. These correlative st udies have led to the hypothesis that sensorimotor gating abnormalities may underlie thought disturbance. Several authors have cautioned, however, tha t this and similar hypotheses are supported by data recorded at different t imes or during "resting states" and therefore incorrectly assume that the o bserved association represents a concurrent relationship. To address this i ssue, sensorimotor gating and thought disturbance were measured in close te mporal proximity, thus strengthening the evidence for the association of th ese 2 abnormalities in schizophrenic patients. Methods: Twenty-one schizophrenic men were assessed on measures of sensorim otor gating and thought disturbance. Sensorimotor gating was examined opera tionally via the use of prepulse inhibition. Thought disturbance was assess ed via the Rorschach test measures of perceptual inaccuracy, disordered cog nition, and the expression of normally repressed contents. Symptom rating s cales (the Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms and the alogia sub scale of the Scale for the Assessment. of Negative Symptoms) were also used . Results: Deficient prepulse inhibition correlated significantly with 2 of t he 3 Rorschach-derived thought disturbance measures. Prepulse inhibition wa s not correlated significantly with symptom rating scales. The Rorschach me asure of impaired perceptual accuracy independently accounted for 60% of th e variance in prepulse inhibition measures and contributed 35% of the uniqu e variance beyond the effect attributable to the Scale for the Assessment o f Positive Symptoms. Conclusions: Assessment of information processing and thought disturbance m easures in close temporal proximity resulted in strong evidence that gating deficits correlate highly with measures of perceptual and reasoning distur bances. This relationship may form an important basis for the cognitive dys function observed among schizophrenic patients.