Attention and visual orienting in siblings, schizophrenic patients, and controls: Impairment in attentional disengagement

Abstract

Visual orienting tasks reveal an impaired disengagement of attention in schizophrenia. We explored visual orientation in 20 schizophrenia patients (SZ), 20 full siblings (FS), and 20 controls (C) using a cued target detection (gap vs. no gap) and a choice reaction time task. SZ but not FS had longer reaction time with comparable reactions to warning. In contrast to C, SZ and FS did not display a significant gap effect. The disengagement deficit in schizophrenia patients and their siblings provides arguments for altered early attention mechanisms (in schizophrenic patients and their nonpsychotic relatives).

Keywords:

• Schizophrenia
• Siblings
• Attention
• Disengagement
• Visuospatial orientation