PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGY OF SCHIZOPHRENIA

此申请是对ADAMHA研究科学家的申请 发展奖，二级。总体目标是为 PI要从事多站点系统计划的研究 精神分裂症患者的注意和情感功能障碍。用心的和 长期以来，情感功能障碍一直被认为是 精神分裂症，但已被证明是复杂和难以测量的。这个 惊吓-眨眼修改范式引起了人们的极大兴趣 因为它有望成为理解这些复杂事物的唯一钥匙 功能障碍。 令人吃惊的眨眼范式涉及到幅度的修改 通过呈现一种不令人吃惊的刺激而产生的惊吓反射 (预脉冲)在惊吓刺激之前。在正常受试者中，大小 效果的大小随着对预脉冲的注意而可靠地变化 预脉冲的情感属性。因此，取决于 刺激条件，令人吃惊的眨眼修改措施可以 提供非语言、非自愿的基本注意力和 情感过程。 提出三个项目，以更好地了解 惊恐瞬目调节受损与注意的关系 以及精神分裂症患者的情感功能障碍。第一个项目旨在 测试惊恐眨眼的状态特征与特质特征 一项纵向研究中的修饰及其注意调节 新近发病的精神分裂症患者。第二个项目旨在测试 惊恐眨眼的变化是否改变，及其注意力 调制，是精神疾病恶化的早期迹象的一部分 慢性精神分裂症患者的重复测量研究第三 该项目旨在开发一种新的令人震惊的眨眼修改范例，以 独立评估注意调节和情绪调节 惊恐反射，先是大学生，后来是精神分裂症 病人。除了这些研究项目外，还在以下方面进行了额外的培训 临床科学和神经科学是为PI概述的。

This application is a request for an ADAMHA Research Scientist Development Award, Level II. The overall aim is to provide time for the PI to engage in a multi-site systematic program of research on attentional and affective dysfunctions in schizophrenia. Attentional and affective dysfunctions have long been considered central deficits in schizophrenia, but have proven complex and difficult to measure. The startle eye-blink modification paradigm is of considerable interest because it promises to be a unique key to understanding these complex dysfunctions. The startle eye-blink paradigm involves the modification of the magnitude of the startle reflex by the presentation of a non-startling stimulus (prepulse) prior to the startle stimulus. In normal subjects, the size of the effect varies reliably with attention to the prepulse and affective properties of the prepulse. Therefore, depending upon the stimulus conditions, measures of startle eye-blink modification can provide non-verbal, non-voluntary indices of basic attentional and affective processes. Three projects are proposed in order to better understand the relationship of impaired startle eye-blink modification to attentional and affective dysfunctions in schizophrenia. The first project aims to test the state versus trait characteristics of startle eye-blink modification, and its attentional modulation, in a longitudinal study of recent-onset schizophrenic outpatients. The second project aims to test whether changes in startle eye-blink modification, and its attentional modulation, are part of early signs of psychotic exacerbation in a repeated-measures study of chronic schizophrenic patients. The third project aims to develop a new startle eye-blink modification paradigm to independently evaluate attentional and affective modulation of the startle reflex, first with college students and later with schizophrenic patients. In addition to these research projects, additional training in clinical science and neuroscience is outlined for the PI.