Adaptation of visually guided behavior during reversed vision in schizophrenia: a preliminary study

This preliminary study evaluated the adaptation of visually guided behavior to reversed vision in schizophrenia. The study included 54 patients who met DSM-III-R criteria for schizophrenia. Visuomotor reaction times (VRTs) during reversed vision were measured in six blocks of 35 consecutive trials. The VRTs of schizophrenics were compared with those of normal subjects. A good fit (R2 = 0.9981) for the adaptation process of VRTs during reversed vision was found with the equation y = 1030 + 1499/x, where x is the order of the block and y is the group mean VRT for each block. The VRTs in schizophrenics were significantly slower than those in normal subjects. However, the adaptation process to reversed vision essentially did not differ from normal. The adaptation of visually guided behavior during reversed vision may involve procedural learning; this task may thus be useful in evaluating such learning. The VRTs during reversed vision may be related to some aspects of symptoms in the patient with schizophrenia and may also be useful in predicting clinical outcome.