Backward Masking in Unmedicated Schizophrenic Patients in Psychotic Remission: Possible Reflection of Aberrant Cortical Oscillation

Abstract

These data from patients in well-documented psychotic remission add converging support for the hypothesis that deficits on backward masking procedures are indicators of vulnerability to schizophrenia. Because visual masking procedures may reflect underlying neural oscillations of 30 to 70 Hz in the visual cortex, the pattern of results is consistent with the theory that visual masking deficits in schizophrenia stem from an underlying failure to establish cortical oscillations.