Skip to main content
Journal cover image

Revisiting the backward masking deficit in schizophrenia: individual differences in performance and modeling with transcranial magnetic stimulation.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Luber, B; Stanford, AD; Malaspina, D; Lisanby, SH
Published in: Biol Psychiatry
October 1, 2007

BACKGROUND: Deficits in backward masking have been variably reported in schizophrenia patients, but individual differences in the expression of these deficits have not been explicitly investigated. In addition, increased knowledge of the visual system has opened the door for new techniques such as transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to explore these deficits physiologically. METHODS: Patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls were tested using a backward masking paradigm. In order to examine the functionality of visual pathways involved in backward masking, subjects were retested on a backward masking paradigm using single pulse TMS applied to occipital cortex in lieu of the masking stimuli. RESULTS: Compared with controls, patients had significantly delayed recovery from visual backward masking. However, 23.5% of patients (compared to 5% of controls) never recovered to levels approaching unmasked performance. When these subjects were segregated from the analysis, group differences vanished. In addition, stimulus masking with occipital TMS followed the same pattern in both patients and controls. CONCLUSIONS: Observations of individual differences in visual masking performance may identify a subgroup of schizophrenia patients. The TMS data suggest that this deficit may not localize to the occipital cortex. However, TMS can be a useful tool for localizing processing deficits in schizophrenia.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Biol Psychiatry

DOI

ISSN

0006-3223

Publication Date

October 1, 2007

Volume

62

Issue

7

Start / End Page

793 / 799

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Visual Pathways
  • Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
  • Schizophrenic Psychology
  • Psychomotor Performance
  • Psychiatry
  • Photic Stimulation
  • Perceptual Masking
  • Male
  • Individuality
  • Humans
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Luber, B., Stanford, A. D., Malaspina, D., & Lisanby, S. H. (2007). Revisiting the backward masking deficit in schizophrenia: individual differences in performance and modeling with transcranial magnetic stimulation. Biol Psychiatry, 62(7), 793–799. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2006.10.007
Luber, Bruce, Arielle D. Stanford, Dolores Malaspina, and Sarah H. Lisanby. “Revisiting the backward masking deficit in schizophrenia: individual differences in performance and modeling with transcranial magnetic stimulation.Biol Psychiatry 62, no. 7 (October 1, 2007): 793–99. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2006.10.007.
Luber, Bruce, et al. “Revisiting the backward masking deficit in schizophrenia: individual differences in performance and modeling with transcranial magnetic stimulation.Biol Psychiatry, vol. 62, no. 7, Oct. 2007, pp. 793–99. Pubmed, doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2006.10.007.
Journal cover image

Published In

Biol Psychiatry

DOI

ISSN

0006-3223

Publication Date

October 1, 2007

Volume

62

Issue

7

Start / End Page

793 / 799

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Visual Pathways
  • Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
  • Schizophrenic Psychology
  • Psychomotor Performance
  • Psychiatry
  • Photic Stimulation
  • Perceptual Masking
  • Male
  • Individuality
  • Humans