- Title
- Using the conditional inference paradigm to explore the basis for reduced mismatch negativity (MMN) size in individuals with schizophrenia
- Creator
- Smith, Ellen
- Resource Type
- thesis
- Date
- 2013
- Description
- Masters Coursework - Master of Clinical Psychology (MClinPsych)
- Description
- Scope: The scope of this thesis includes a review of existing literature on various theories put forward to explain the reduction of event-related potential component, mismatch negativity (MMN) in the mental illness schizophrenia. Evaluation of existing literature builds the argument for purpose and experimental design of this thesis. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis was to explore the integrity of the inferential process and basis for reduced MMN in schizophrenia. Methodology: The thesis features the application of a novel MMN paradigm to explore what is impaired and what is intact in the inferential process underlying MMN generation in schizophrenia. Sixty-five participants (35 individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder and 30 matched controls) completed the MMN paradigm together with cognitive testing and clinical assessment. Results: The data indicate that although MMN is smaller in size in this sample (replicating prior research), persons with schizophrenia are equivalent in their ability to reduced MMN size to a deviant when the timing of its occurrence can be inferred from predictive cues. Conclusions and Implications. The paradigm was designed on the assumption that the reduced size of MMN to a predictable deviation reflects a dynamic shift in a perceptual inference model. This process is intact within schizophrenia. However, our data reveal other group differences within the paradigm that have methodological implications for research in this field.
- Subject
- schizophrenia; MMN; mismatch negativity; perceptual learning; conditional inference; event-related potential
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1037371
- Identifier
- uon:13432
- Rights
- Copyright 2013 Ellen Smith
- Language
- eng
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| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | ATTACHMENT01 | Abstract | 204 KB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download | ||
| View Details Download | ATTACHMENT02 | Thesis | 3 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |