SENSORY PROCESSING, SENSORY GATING, & SCHIZOPHRENIA

精神分裂症患者对感觉的反应异常 刺激.他们表现出缺乏前脉冲抑制（PPI）和赤字 听觉惊吓反射的习惯化已经被解释为 无法过滤星门的感官输入无论PPI 和习惯性损伤与异常的感觉处理有关， 不清楚此外，无论这些赤字发生在所有或仅在一个 精神分裂症患者的亚组尚未进行研究。这项建议 特别概述了对人类受试者的研究， 感觉加工可能与PPI和习惯性损伤有关， 可能是认知分裂和思维障碍的基础 精神分裂症患者的特征我们亦会评估 精神分裂症患者亚组的一般性与特异性 我们的结果，因为它可能涉及到精神分裂症的异质性， disorder. 脑干和中潜伏期听觉诱发电位（BAEP和MAEP， 分别）将用于探索听觉的功能 神经系统BAEP测量将测试听觉的完整性， 外周和脑干功能，而MAEP措施将 探索脑干的听觉处理中枢， 皮层肌电图记录将用于监测眨眼 惊吓反应的反射成分。PPI将由以下因素诱导 在惊吓前的短时间间隔内表现出微弱的前刺激 刺激，并通过呈现相同的惊吓刺激来适应 重复地，听觉感觉功能将在一个 BAEP和MAEP参数研究。我们的主要目标是调查 以下问题：感觉门控和习惯化缺陷 是所有精神分裂症患者的特征还是精神分裂症患者的一个亚组的特征？做 前脉冲抑制受损的精神分裂症患者，或 习惯化有异常的听觉感觉处理吗？

Schizophrenic patients have been shown to respond abnormally to sensory stimulation. They show a lack of prepulse inhibition (PPI) and a deficit of habituation of the acoustic startle reflex that have been interpreted as an inability to filter of gate sensory input. However, whether the PPI and habituation impairments are related to abnormal sensory processing is unclear. In addition, whether these deficits occur in all or only in a subgroup of schizophrenics has not been investigated. This proposal specifically outlines studies in human subjects that will investigate how sensory processing may relate to the PPI and habituation impairments that may underlie the cognitive fragmentation and thought disorder characteristic of schizophrenic patients. We will also assess the generality versus the specificity to a subgroup of schizophrenic patients of our results as it may relate to the heterogeneity of the schizophrenic disorder. Brainstem and middle latency auditory evoked potentials (BAEP and MAEP, respectively) will be used to explore the functioning of the auditory neural system. BAEP measures will test the integrity of the auditory periphery and of the brainstem functioning, whereas MAEP measures will explore auditory processing central to the brainstem up to the auditory cortex. Electromyographic recordings will be used to monitor the blink reflex component of the startle reaction. PPI will be induced by presenting weak prestimuli at short intervals prior to the startle stimulus, and habituation by presenting the same startle stimulus repeatedly, Auditory sensory functioning will be evaluated in a parametric study of BAEP and MAEP. Our main objective is to investigate the following questions: Are sensory gating and habituation deficits characteristic off all or a subgroup of schizophrenic patients? Do schizophrenic individuals with impairments in prepulse inhibition or habituation have abnormal auditory sensory processing?