Global attentional deviance as a marker of risk for schizophrenia: Specificity and predictive validity.

Evaluated global attentional deficits as possible childhood markers of schizophrenia. Performance deviance was assessed across a continuous performance test, an attention span task, and the Digit Span subtest of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC). 63 children of schizophrenic parents, 43 children of parents with affective disorders, and 100 children of normal parents were tested when the children were 7–12 yrs old. A subgroup of Ss at risk for schizophrenia displayed extreme global deviance across attentional measures. Only a small number of Ss at risk for affective disorders and normal comparison Ss showed similar extreme attentional deficits. The global attentional deficits measured at these early ages were related to behavioral disturbances (behavior was assessed in 3–6 mo intervals since 1971) in young adulthood for Ss at risk for schizophrenia, but not for Ss in the affective risk group or in the normal comparison group. It is concluded that global attentional deficits have considerable specificity for predicting behavioral problems thought to be precursors of schizophrenia or schizophrenia-related disorders. (54 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Hillside study of risk and early detection in schizophrenia

BACKGROUND: The Hillside Study of Risk and Early Detection in Schizophrenia is a prospective study of young probands (ages 14-28) and their at-risk siblings (ages 14-24). A major goal is the identification of early predictors of illness that will facilitate intervention. The project design and pilot study are discussed. METHOD: Fifteen adolescents were compared to 14 typical age-of-onset adults, all undergoing their first hospitalisation for schizophrenia. RESULTS: There were no differences between adolescents and adults on any of the measures administered (i.e. attention, eye tracking, neurocognitive or clinical). In addition, for the sample overall, no association was found between neurocognitive functions and clinical state, either at admission or after treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Individuals with adolescent onset of schizophrenia are considered to be representative of schizophrenia in general. Furthermore, neurocognitive deficits and clinical symptoms are concluded to be two independent classes of risk indicators.     

Attention and clinical symptoms in schizophrenia

Attentional deficits, long established to characterize patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders, have traditionally been regarded as part of the disorder's clinical syndrome. In this paper we provide evidence to indicate that: a) impaired attention is a dimension of schizophrenia that is independent of clinical state, and b) that attention does not appear to respond to the medication (i.e. standard neuroleptics) most typically used to treat clinical symptoms. Since intact attention and other cognitive processes appear critical to successful functioning in the community after hospital discharge, these findings have major implications for treatment.     

Protriptyline as an alternative stimulant medication in patients with brain injury: a series of case reports

The results of a series of eight individual case reports in which protriptyline, an activating tricyclic antidepressant, was used as a 'stimulant' medication are presented. For some patients with head injury, traditional stimulants, such as methylphenidate, or dopaminergic stimulants, such as levodopa-carbidopa, amantadine, or bromocriptine, may be partially or totally ineffective or not tolerated. Protriptyline can be a very effective alternative and, for some patients, may be the most effective stimulant tried. In low to moderate doses, protriptyline should be considered for trials as an activating/stimulant medication in patients with head injury.     

Schizotypy and sustained attention.

We examined sustained attention in 32 schizotypic and 43 normal control Ss from a large, randomly ascertained nonclinical university population. Schizotypy status was determined with the Perceptual Aberration Scale. Sustained attention was measured with the Continuous Performance Test-Identical Pairs. Schizotypic Ss displayed significantly poorer sustained-attention performance than did control Ss, as measured by d and overall hit rate. Although schizotypic Ss evidenced greater levels of anxiety and depression, sustained-attention performance was not significantly associated with these mental state factors. Our results provide evidence for a subtle sustained-attention deficit among schizotypes and are interpreted in light of previous attention research with actual schizophrenic patients as well as children at risk for schizophrenia. Utility of the psychometric high-risk strategy in psychopathology research is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A taxometric analysis of cognitive and neuromotor variables in children at risk for schizophrenia.

A taxometric model was applied to detect a subgroup or taxon of children conjectured to be at highest risk for developing schizophrenia or related disorders in a sample of offspring of schizophrenic, depressed, and normal parents. Measures of cognitive and neuromotor performance in childhood were used as indicator tests in the analyses. A taxon consisting chiefly of children of schizophrenic parents was detected. Forty-seven percent of those children were assigned to the taxon, compared with 16% of the children of depressed parents and 4% of the children of normal parents. Assignment to the taxon is assessed in relation to the current functional status of the subjects in young adulthood. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)