[EEG correlates of information processing in acute and remittent schizophrenic patients]

Studies of the EEG correlates of information processing in normals indicate that different cognitive processing of information is correlated with different functional brain states. Studies in experimental psychology have demonstrated a communication and performance deficit in schizophrenics which indicates a deviation in one or more stages of information processing. Accordingly it can be hypothesized that the functional brain states as manifested in the EEG during information processing in schizophrenics are different from these states in normals or former schizophrenics. The paper tested this hypothesis in drug-free acute and former schizophrenics, neurotics and normals. The results indicate 1) that acute schizophrenics show a deviant electrical brain state during information processing; 2) former schizophrenics in a good clinical remission have electrical brain states during information processing which in some aspects are normalised, and in other aspects still differ from these states in normals and neurotics. The importance of these physiological findings for the assessment of the efficacy of the biological and psychological treatments in schizophrenia is discussed.