NO VIGILANCE DEFICIT FOUND IN EITHER YOUNG SCHIZOPHRENIC OR ADHD SUBJECTS

Vigilance deficits have been found in both schizophrenic and ADHD subj ects. The two patient groups have never been directly compared on any vigilance measure, however. In the present study 20 early-onset schizo phrenics were compared to 20 ADHD adolescents on a Degraded Stimulus C ontinuous Performance Test (DS-CPT). A comparison group of 30 normal a dolescents was also included. Results showed no significant difference s between the three groups on any of the DS-CPT measures. Different hy potheses are put forth to explain the findings, among them that the ta sk may be insensitive to identifying sustained attention deficits in a dolescent populations.