Skin Conductance Orienting Activity in a Heterogeneous Sample of Schizophrenics

In a heterogeneous sample of 80 schizophrenics, both noninstitutionalized and institutionalized, skin conductance orienting responses to repeated 85-db tones either failed or were slow to habituate to criterion, or failed to occur. Schizophrenics with orienting responses had higher skin conductance levels and a higher incidence of spontaneous fluctuations of skin conductance. Schizophrenics had higher response amplitudes, faster latencies, and faster recovery times than a control group of 20 nonpsychotic patient or normal controls. The results are discussed as possible evidence of limbic forebrain pathology in schizophrenia.