Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Klinik Psikofarmakoloji Bulteni, cilt.12, sa.3, ss.109-114, 2002 (Scopus)
Objective: "Cancellation Test" developed by Weintraub and Mesulam in the 1980's is a test used to measure continuous attention. The current study using the cancellation test aims to measure continuous attention in schizophrenic patients, characterized by disorder in data-processing and failure in focusing attention, and to investigate the effect of smoking on attention and performance. Method: The study group consisted of 30 healthy individuals and 30 schizophrenics (15 smokers and 15 non-smokers). The subjects were given 4 subtest which included characters and figures of regular and irregular shapes, and they were requested to mark the repetition of the letter A, which was the target in tests where characters were used, and of a given targeted shape in test where irregular figures were used. The length of time for the subject to complete the test (LTCT) was determined using a chronometer, and the total number of the targets marked (TNTM), the total number of the missed targets (TNMT), the total number of the incorrectly marked targets (TNIMT), the time to complete the test were calculated. The smokers received the test at the end of an half-an-hour period of smoking preceded by a 24-hour period of no smoking. The non-smoker on the other hand received the test and after half an hour repeated it. Results: There were significant differences for TNTM, TNMT, TNIMT and LTCT between the control and schizophrenic group (p<0.05) and meaningful effect was observed for smoking on LTCT, in both groups(p<0.05). Conclusion: It was observed that smoking might have an improving effect on attention in both schizophrenics and healthy subjects. In addition, cancellation test may be used to evaluate the attention in schizophrenic patients as in normal individuals.