Inverse relation between clinical distractibility and Stroop interference in functional psychoses

Introduction. Many patients with psychotic disorders appear distractible. Some theories propose that distractibility causes psychotic symptoms, others propose the reverse. We tested these theories by assessing relations between psychotic symptoms, Stroop interference, and clinical distractibility in patients with schizophrenia or affective psychoses. Methods. We rated clinical distractibility in patients with acute schizophrenia or affective psychoses and measured their Stroop interference in a single trial colour-naming task. Results. Clinical distractibility related inversely to Stroop interference. Stroop interference was small in drug-naive patients with schizophrenia, but normal in those receiving treatment. Patients with affective psychoses showed the opposite pattern. Conclusions. The abnormality of attention that clinicians rate as “distractibility” is probably the opposite—attentional capture. Abnormal attention neither results from nor causes psychotic symptoms. Rather, it is an independent correlate of pathophysiology in functional psychoses that merits assessment and treatment in its own right.

引言。许多患有精神障碍的患者似乎容易分心。一些理论提出分心会导致精神症状，另一些则提出相反的观点。我们通过评估精神分裂症或情感性精神病患者的精神症状、斯特鲁普干扰和临床分心之间的关系来检验这些理论。 方法。我们对急性精神分裂症或情感性精神病患者的临床分心情况进行评级，并在单次试验的颜色命名任务中测量他们的斯特鲁普干扰。 结果。临床分心与斯特鲁普干扰呈负相关。未使用药物的精神分裂症患者的斯特鲁普干扰较小，但接受治疗的患者则正常。情感性精神病患者呈现相反的模式。 结论。临床医生评定为“分心”的注意力异常可能恰恰相反——是注意力俘获。异常的注意力既不是由精神症状导致的，也不会导致精神症状。相反，它是功能性精神病病理生理学的一个独立相关因素，本身就值得评估和治疗。