Saccadic inhibition among schizotypal personality disorder subjects

Schizotypal personality disorder (SPD) is theoretically part of the schizop hrenia spectrum both clinically and neurobiologically. A liability for deve loping schizophrenia may be associated with dysfunction of dorsolateral pre frontal cortex (DLPFC) and its cortical and/or subcortical circuitry. If so , abnormalities on tasks associated with DLPFC functioning among SPD subjec ts would support the thesis that SPD is neurobiologically related to schizo phrenia. Antisaccade and ocular motor delayed response performance, both of which are ostensibly supported by DLPFC circuitry, were assessed among 29 SPD, 17 schizophrenia, and 25 normal subjects. Generally, the SPD subjects' performance was more similar to normal than to schizophrenia groups. There was evidence, however, for inhibition abnormalities in a subgroup of SPD s ubjects. Antisaccade performance identified more SPD subjects as "abnormal" than delayed response measures.