Abstract
Differences in auditory signal detection between paranoid and nonparanoid schizophrenic patients were examined under six signal-to-noise conditions for those off and on different dosages of phenothiazine medication. Their performance was compared with normals. It was found that with increasing levels of phenothiazine medication the signal detection performance of paranoids increased while for nonparanoids it decreased. Normals performed best under all signal-to-noise conditions and paranoids worst. Only paranoids as compared to nonparanoids adopted consistently and significantly more conservative decision making criteria. Both normals and nonparanoids adopted decision criteria close to optimum. The d'measure of signal detection theory used to assess signal detection performance does not appear to reflect solely the sensitivity of the auditory mechanism in schizophrenics. Rather it reflects the combined influences of decreased correct responses, increased propensity to make omission errors, and large response variability.
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Rappaport, M., Hopkins, H.K., Silverman, J. et al. Auditory signal detection in schizophrenics. Psychopharmacologia 24, 6–28 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00402903
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00402903