SENSORY PROCESSING, SENSORY GATING, & SCHIZOPHRENIA

精神分裂症患者已被证明对感官反应异常 刺激。它们表现为缺乏脉冲前抑制(PPI)和缺陷 已经解释的声学惊吓反射的习惯化 因为无法过滤门的感官输入。然而，PPI是否 习惯化障碍与异常的感觉处理有关 不清楚。此外，无论这些缺陷是全部发生还是仅发生在 精神分裂症患者的亚群还没有被调查。这项建议 具体列出了对人类受试者的研究，这些研究将调查 感觉加工可能与PPI和习惯化障碍有关 可能是认知碎片化和思维障碍的根源 精神分裂症患者的特点。我们亦会评估 精神分裂症患者亚组的共性与特异性 因为它可能与精神分裂症患者的异质性有关 无序。 脑干和中潜伏期听觉诱发电位(BAEP和MAEP， 将分别用于探索听觉的功能 神经系统。脑干听觉诱发电位测量将测试听觉的完整性 外周和脑干功能，而MAEP措施将 探索从脑干到听觉中枢的听觉处理 大脑皮层。肌电记录将被用来监测眨眼 惊吓反应的反射成分。PPI将由以下因素引起 在惊吓前的短时间间隔内呈现微弱的预刺激 刺激，以及通过呈现相同的惊吓刺激而习惯性 反复地，听觉感觉功能将在一项 BAEP和MAEP的参数研究。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特征？做 有脉前抑制或脉搏前抑制障碍的精神分裂症患者 习惯性有不正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?