J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 1998;65:454-459 ( October )
Cue dependent right hemineglect in schizophrenia: a kinematic
analysis
Michelle E Downing,a
James G Phillips,a
John L Bradshaw,a
Krishna S Vaddadi,b
Christos Pantelisc
a Department of
Psychology, Monash University, Clayton VIC 3168, Australia, b Adult
Psychiatry, Monash Medical Centre, Clayton VIC 3168, Australia, c Cognitive Neuropsychiatry Unit, Mental
Health Research Institute, and Department of Psychiatry, University of
Melbourne, Parkville VIC 3052, Australia
Correspondence to: Dr J G Phillips, Psychology
Department, Monash University, Clayton VIC 3168, Australia. Fax 00613 9905 3948.
Received 9 April 1997 and in revised form 15 December 1997;
Accepted 14 January 1998
OBJECTIVES
Schizophrenia may result from disturbed
attentional processes and/or defective internal cueing. Attention for
subsequent action within a cued movement task was therefore studied,
testing specific hypotheses of hemispheric dysfunction and of impaired
interhemispheric communication.
METHODFifteen patients with schizophrenia and 15 matched controls were either cued or uncued when moving a pen to a
target on their right or left side with their right or left hand. Pen
tip position was sampled at 200 Hz on a WACOM SD420 graphics tablet for
subsequent kinematic analysis.
RESULTSPatients with schizophrenia were slower
initiating rightwards movements without a cue. Patients also exhibited
reduced abductive/adductive differences in the shape of their movement
trajectories, implying differences in interhemispheric communication.
CONCLUSIONSIt is speculated that schizophrenia is
a form of cue dependent right hemineglect.
Keywords:
schizophrenia;
hemineglect;
attention;
programming;
kinematics
© 1998 by Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry
