The effect of varying the rate of presentation on the information transmission of schizophrenic and control groups.

Groups of subjects were tested on a paced serial reaction-time task in order to study the effect of varying the rate at which information was presented. The groups were: two groups of patients with acute schizophrenia but differentiated on the basis of primary symptoms, a group of institutionalized schizophrenic patients, a group of neurotic patients and a normal group. All groups showed a reduction in efficiency when the presentation rate was increased. The groups most adversely affected were the non-integrated and institutionalized schizophrenic patients. The integrated schizophrenic and the neurotic groups were affected to a lesser degree, the normal groups being least affected. These results favour a dimensional view of personal illness, in which deficits are most marked in patients with non-integrated schizophrenia.