[Psychometric and psychophysiologic studies in AIDS patients with reference to the "declining performance...

It has been reported that the acquired immune deficiency syndrome can present neuropsychiatric symptoms of major depressive disorders, adjustment disorder with depressed mood and organic brain syndromes with affective, delusional and demented features. The aim of the present study was to determine deficits in performance and to measure psychophysiological variables in drug addicted AIDS-patients. 28 drug addicted AIDS-patients and 17 homosexual AIDS-patients participated in the study voluntarily and were compared to healthy normals. 18 patients belonged to stage III, 27 to stage IV. Performance was measured by numerical memory test, Benton test, Alphabetic reaction test and computer-assisted rigidity test. Psychophysiological parameters were evaluated by computer-assisted "static" and "dynamic" pupillometry, computer-assisted measurements of skin conductance-level, -reaction and habituation; and critical flicker frequency analyses. Performance in drug addicted AIDS-patients differed from controls and especially from healthy normals within a minimal range ("Denivellierungssyndrom"--decline of level of performance). No AIDS-dementia could be objectivated. Furthermore drug-dependent AIDS-patients demonstrated autonomous desactivation, reduced pupillary reagibility and suppressed vegetative irritability.