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OADES, R.D., BUNK, D., & EGGERS, C. (1992). Paranoid schizophrenics may not use irrelevant signals: The use of measures of blocking and of urinary dopamine. Acta Paedopsychiatrica, 55, 183-184.(pdf file) Conditioned blocking (CB) tests whether in associative learning, superfluous / irrelevant information is suppressed - if one learns about the additional stimulus then normal blocking is impaired. Methods: CB was examined in an associative learning test in a visuospatial, mouse-in-house, computer task (find a safe corner associated with a coloured cue). Further 24 urine collections were taken between the 2 parts of the CB task in 15 patients with schizophrenia (8 paranoid, 7 nonparanoid type), 7 with obsessive compuslive disorder (OCD) and 15 healthy contrtols, to monitor general levels of monoamine activity. Results: CB was attenuated only in the
nonparanoid patiuents with schizophrenia (not in those with OCD or paranoid
diagnoses). Conclusions: Higher levels of dopamine
activity are not necessarily associated with psychosis. |