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Anticipating incoming events: an impaired cognitive process in schizophrenia.

Authors :
Posada A
Franck N
Georgieff N
Jeannerod M
Source :
Cognition [Cognition] 2001 Oct; Vol. 81 (3), pp. 209-25.
Publication Year :
2001

Abstract

Intentions are central to guiding actions to their completion because they generate expectations which precede the realization of a task. This ability to manage time was investigated by using a cognitive task which involves several highly integrated processes: sequential learning, explicit processing, and working memory. In this task, participants are required to explicitly learn a repeating color sequence before receiving an instruction to give an anticipatory motor response concerning the next element. Two types of sequences (temporal and spatial) and three experimental conditions were tested in both a group of normal participants and a group of schizophrenic patients. Schizophrenics were included because their condition is known to alter conscious executive function. Our results showed that schizophrenic patients have a strong deficit in performing anticipation tasks. Although they learned the sequences almost normally, their anticipatory ability was reduced in comparison to normal participants in all the tested conditions. These results expand the notion of a working memory deficit in schizophrenia and bear strong implications for understanding executive disorders observed in such patients.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
0010-0277
Volume :
81
Issue :
3
Database :
MEDLINE
Journal :
Cognition
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
11483170
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1016/s0010-0277(01)00133-0