7 schizophrenics and 8 normal controls were administered reaction time (RT) trials while alpha (8 to 13 cps) waves were visible from the right motor parietal EEG leads. Under these conditions, schizophrenics were significantly faster than normals in alpha blocking latency (ABL) on this and the other two recorded channels. No differences occurred in RT. Mean RT was significantly correlated with mean ABL only when blocked trials and diminished trials were correlated separately. Intrasubject correlations between RT and ABL were not significant. The findings were discussed in terms of the concepts of arousal by Venables and by Goldstein and Sugerman.
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