Elsevier

Vision Research

Volume 47, Issue 23, October 2007, Pages 2923-2933
Vision Research

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Contrast sensitivity and magnocellular functioning in schizophrenia

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.visres.2007.07.016Get rights and content
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Abstract

It has been suggested that schizophrenia is associated with a magnocellular deficit. This would predict a loss of contrast sensitivity at low spatial and/or at high temporal frequencies. We here review research that tested contrast sensitivity in individuals with schizophrenia. We find that the results of this research tend to show uniform reductions in contrast sensitivity that are generally not consistent with a magnocellular deficit. While much of this data may be consistent with an attentional deficiency on the part of the schizophrenic individuals, it is difficult to link such an attentional deficiency specifically to the magnocellular system. The conclusion of the present review is that contrast sensitivity data do not indicate the existence of an association between magnocellular deficits and schizophrenia.

Keywords

Contrast sensitivity
Magnocellular
Schizophrenia
Temporal frequency
Spatial frequency
Attention

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