Psychophysiology at the Interface of Clinical Science, Cognitive Science, and Neuroscience

Abstract

Research in schizophrenia illustrates that the field of psychophysiology lies at the interface of clinical science, cognitive science, and neuroscience. Electrodermal abnormalities in schizophrenic patients have been found reliably across laboratories, and data reported here demonstrate that these abnormalities are at least partially dependent upon the clinical state of the patients. Both tonic and phasic electrodermal activity increased when schizophrenic patients entered into a psychotic episode, and preliminary evidence suggests that the increases may serve as early prodromal signs of an impending episode. Significance of the electrodermal abnormalities for understanding cognitive and attentional deficits is suggested by associations with secondary reaction time and startle blink probe findings. Neuroscience implications are highlighted by the correlation of the electrodermal abnormalities with regional brain metabolic activity indexed by positron emission tomography. An important task for the future is to interrelate measures from these various domains. The field of psychophysiology is particularly well positioned for this task.