Abstract

Introduction: This study was aimed to compare the latent inhibition mechanisms (LI) in patients at the acute phase of schizophrenia with the patients whose symptoms were controlled by antipsy- chotic medications.

Method: LI was evaluated using visual and auditory stimuli in three groups: The first group (n=30) included the patients at the acute psychotic phase that did not take any medication. The second group (n=35) were the patients whose symptoms were controlled by antipsychotic drugs. The third group (n=31) were normal controls with no history of schizophrenia. The error score in learning in the testing phase was regarded as a dependent variable.

Results: The error scores in schizophrenia patients (acute phase and stable patients) were signifi-cantly higher as compared to the control group. The expected effect of LI was not observed in stable schizophrenia patients.

Conclusion: Our results did not show an association between LI and the phases of schizophrenia. It seems that patient's unfamiliarity with the testing technology has influenced the findings.