Eye Blink Response in Healthy Volunteers and Adults With Schizophrenia

The purpose of this study is to explore how the brain works during particular memory tasks in people with schizophrenia and healthy volunteers. Research has shown that patients with schizophrenia have structural and functional abnormalities in the hippocampus and cerebellum of their brains. These abnormalities are likely associated with the memory impairment experienced by these patients. Eye blink tests can provide information about memory acquisition involving the cerebellar and hippocampal regions. By altering the stimuli interval, these tests can distinguish between cerebellum-dependent memory associated with subliminal mnemonic encoding and hippocampus-dependent memory associated with conscious awareness. This study will use eyeblink tests to determine which type of memory is predominantly affected in schizophrenia. Participants in this study will be screened with a physical and psychiatric examination. Participants will have an electroencephalogram (EEG), an electrocardiogram (ECG), and an electrodermal test. Evoked potentials and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of the brain may also be taken.