Citation

Karson CN, Kleinman JE, Berman KF, Phelps BH, Wise CD, Delisi LE, Jeste DV. Br. J. Psychiatry 1983; 142: 43-46.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1983, Royal College of Psychiatry)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

6831128

Abstract

An inverse correlation between platelet monoamine oxidase activity and spontaneous eye-blink rate, a putative measure of central dopaminergic activity, was found in medication-free chronic schizophrenic patients without tardive dyskinesia (n = 20, rs = -.47, P less than .025). A similar correlation was found when patients with tardive dyskinesia were included but was weaker (n = 27, rs = -.35, P less than .05). Normal controls and patients with tardive dyskinesia did not demonstrate this relationship. This report confirms a previous finding of a significant platelet monoamine oxidase-blink rate correlation in chronic schizophrenic patients. Insofar as this relationship is mediated by dopamine, it suggests that dopaminergic relations are more readily demonstrated in schizophrenic subjects than normals. Moreover, tardive dyskinesia appears to obscure this dopaminergic relationship.

Language: en