THE ASSESSMENT OF SEQUENTIAL RESPONSE ORGANIZATION IN SCHIZOPHRENIC AND CONTROL SUBJECTS

1. A novel analysis is introduced for the sequential organization of b ehavioral elements derived from the ergodic theory of nonlinear dynami cal systems and statistical mechanics of physical systems. 2. This ana lysis yields the fluctuation spectrum of local dynamical entropies, S (h), which quantifies the contributions of subsequences with different degrees of association between elements to the overall observed vcd b ehavior. In addition, q-dependent order parameter functions assess the relationship between the degree of association between consecutive be havioral elements and qualitative aspects of the subsequences. 3. A bi nary choice task paradigm is used to extract thought-contingent respon ses is order to determine the organization of sequences of behavioral actions. 4. A group a schizophrenic patients and controls was tested w ith a binary choice task paradigm to determine the sequential organiza tion of their responses. 5. The results indicate that the overall resp onse sequences of both schizophrenics and controls are non-random. In addition, clear differences in qualitative aspects between response su bsequences with different degrees of association are revealed. Finally , significant fluctuations within individual subjects were found betwe en highly predictable and highly unpredictable response subsequences. 6. These results are discussed with respect to dysregulations in behav ioral organization that could not be assessed previously and may provi de new insights into the behavioral effects of the underlying dysregul ated neural circuitry.