Abnormalities in Skin Potential Fluctuations During the Sleep of Acute Schizophrenic Patients

Abstract

Spontaneous skin potential fluctuations (SPF) were recorded during the sleep of 8 acute schizophrenic patients and 6 normal volunteers. While in normals the SPFs decreased during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and were most numerous during Stages III and IV, the acute schizophrenics had the greatest number of SPFs during REM sleep and waking, and fewest during Stages III and IV sleep. It is hypothesized that this effect represents a lack of normal control during REM sleep in the acute schizophrenic patients. It may be related to the recently reported failure of acute schizophrenics to have post-REM-deprivation supranormal levels of REM seen in normals. It is also possibly connected to a hypothesized serotonergic REM system.