Date of Award

1994

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Abstract

In the present dissertation, a review of the research literature examining (a) schizophrenic cognitive impairments, (b) neurological correlates to these impairments, and (c) the reasons for the recent developments in stochastic modeling and the theories behind them was undertaken. Data from previous research, plus data collected for the current work, were then analyzed employing stochastic models.;With respect to the first topic, research into these impairments has fostered a myriad of hypotheses as to their genesis. At one time or another, every step in the chain of information processing had been proposed to be involved in this impairment. More recently, a deficit in attentional capacity has been indicated to be responsible.;The data mentioned above were examined through the use of mathematical models in an attempt to illuminate the underlying mechanisms of the aforementioned impairments. It was found that schizophrenic individuals, like mentally healthy people, appear to be able to employ a reasonably sophisticated parallel processing system. Further, it was ascertained that the schizophrenic impairment likely stemmed from an inefficient deployment of an intact capacity--i.e., requiring additional subprocesses, rather than a deficit in that store of capacity--i.e., resulting in a decrement in processing rate.;The results of the present work are compared with other endeavours which implemented computational and algorithmic levels of analyses. Implications arising from these results in terms of treatment and further research are discussed.

Share

COinS
 
 

To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately,
you may Download the file to your hard drive.

NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window.