Failures of automatic and strategic processing in schizophrenia: comparisons of event-related brain potential and startle blink modification

Noises elicit startle blinks that are inhibited when immediately (similar t o 100 ms) preceded by non-startling prepulses, perhaps reflecting automatic sensory gating. Startle blinks are facilitated when preceded by prepulses at longer lead intervals, perhaps reflecting strategic processes. Event-rel ated brain potentials (ERPs) and startle blinks were used to investigate th e well-documented prepulse inhibition failure in schizophrenia. Blinks and ERPs were recorded from 15 schizophrenic men and 20 age-matched controls to noises alone and to noises preceded by prepulses at 120 (PP120) , 500 (PP500) and 4000 ms (PP4000) lead intervals. Neither blinks nor any o f the ERP components elicited by the noise alone differentiated schizophren ics from controls, although responses to noises were modified by prepulses differently in the two groups. With the N1 component of the ERP, patients s howed normal inhibition but lacked facilitation, and with P2, patients lack ed inhibition, but showed normal facilitation. With reflex blinks and P300, inhibition was seen in both groups, but no facilitation. These results suggest that different neural circuits are involved in blink and cortical reflections of startle modification in schizophrenics and cont rols, with both automatic and strategic processes being impaired in schizop hrenia. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.