LEUCOTOMIZED AND NON-LEUCOTOMIZED SCHIZOPHRENICS - COMPARISON ON TESTS OF ATTENTION

  • 1 January 1981
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 16  (11) , 1085-1100
Abstract
Deficits in attention have been strongly linked with both schizophrenia and pathology in the prefrontal cortex. This observation was tested by administering a battery of commonly used tests of attention, sustained mental activity and tracking to 16 patients who had undergone prefrontal leukotomy .apprx. 25 yr earlier. Presurgical diagnosis in each patient was schizophrenia. The 16 were divided into 3 groups based on their recovery after surgery. A control group of nonleukotomized schizophrenics was established to control for psychiatric symptomatology. A 2nd control group consisted of subjects without history of psychiatric or CNS disorder. There was no statistically significant impairment of performance in attention tests between the patients with prefrontal psychosurgery and the normal control subjects. The nonoperated schizophrenic control group performed most poorly. Lesion chronicity, interaction of leukotomy and presurgical psychiatric state, and conditions of test administration are suggested as possible explanations for the unexpected results.

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