Blackwood D H, St Clair D M, Muir W J, Duffy J C
University Department of Psychiatry, Royal Edinburgh Hospital, Scotland.
Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1991 Oct;48(10):899-909. doi: 10.1001/archpsyc.1991.01810340031004.
Several psychophysiological abnormalities associated with schizophrenia have been proposed as genetic trait markers of vulnerability to the disorder. Smooth pursuit eye tracking dysfunction and abnormal long latency event-related potentials are the most promising candidates. Both are independent of the effects of psychotropic medication or mental state at the time of testing, and twin studies demonstrate that each has a high level of heritability. Having recorded smooth pursuit eye tracking and event-related potentials in 20 high-density schizophrenic families, we find abnormalities in one or both measures in most of the families studied. The abnormalities, when present, occur in the family members with schizophrenia and other forms of functional psychosis, and they have a bimodal distribution with approximately half the nonschizophrenic relatives also showing eye tracking dysfunction and/or abnormal event-related potentials. Some of these relatives had psychiatric symptoms; others were normal. Our results suggest that psychophysiological examination can help to clarify the boundaries of schizophrenia spectrum disorder. By helping to decide the phenotypic status of nonschizophrenic family members, this should increase the power of DNA linkage studies.
一些与精神分裂症相关的心理生理异常已被提出作为该疾病易感性的遗传性状标记。平稳跟踪眼球运动功能障碍和异常的长潜伏期事件相关电位是最有希望的候选标记。两者均独立于测试时精神药物的影响或精神状态，双生子研究表明，每一种都具有高度遗传性。在20个高密度精神分裂症家族中记录了平稳跟踪眼球运动和事件相关电位后，我们发现在大多数研究的家族中，一项或两项测量存在异常。当存在异常时，这些异常出现在患有精神分裂症和其他形式功能性精神病的家庭成员中，并且它们呈双峰分布，大约一半的非精神分裂症亲属也表现出眼球运动功能障碍和/或异常的事件相关电位。这些亲属中有些有精神症状；其他的则正常。我们的结果表明，心理生理检查有助于明确精神分裂症谱系障碍的界限。通过帮助确定非精神分裂症家庭成员的表型状态，这应该会增强DNA连锁研究的效力。
