The hypothesis that chronic schizophrenia may be a form of organic brain damage was tested, using a reliable spatial perceptual test with two groups: chronic schizophrenics and organic brain-damaged Ss. Contrary to expectation and contrary to the findings of others, chronic schizophrenics performed significantly more poorly. Brain-damaged Ss were all recent admissions to a general medical hospital, whereas the schizophrenics averaged more than 13 yr. institutionalization. It was suggested this environmental factor was responsible for the obtained differences.
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