Deficient spatial attentional modulation of prepulse inhibition in patients with schizophrenia

Perceived spatial separation could enhance prepulse inhibition (PPI) in normal rats, through facilitating spatial attention to the prepulse. Schizophrenia patients showed deficits in baseline PPI and the attentional modulation of PPI. This study investigated whether perceived spatial separation could enhance PPI in people with chronic schizophrenia. Results showed that perceived spatial separation could enhance PPI in normal controls but not in patients. Further analysis revealed that when the interval between prepulse and pulse was 60 ms, the PPI gain induced by perceived spatial separation was negatively correlated with the positive symptom severity in patients. This new paradigm of PPI modulation might serve as an endophenotype in the study of informational processing in schizophrenia.