PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGICAL PATTERNS OF RESPONSE IN SCHIZOPHRENIA

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Abstract
Schizophrenic subgroups (paranoid vs. nonparanoid), (acute vs. chronic), (poor vs. good premorbids) did not differ on heart rate (HE,) and skin conductance (SC). Paranoids showed significantly higher muscle tension (EMG) than nonparanoids, and there were no subgroup differences on blood pulse volume (BPV). Under phenothiazine medication patients showed lower SC and higher HR than normals, but after drug withdrawal patients showed both high SC and high HR. Correlations between the four psychophysiological measures provided little evidence for arousal as a unitary concept, and correcting for background variables by stepwise regression analysis did not modify the evidence for arousal. Analysis of coefficients of concordance, based on autonomic lability scores, showed that drugged schizophrenics were physiologically less sensitive to changes in the procedure than normals.

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