AROUSAL RELATED TO EXCRETION OF NORADRENALINE METABOLITES AND CLINICAL ASPECTS OF UN-MEDICATED CHRONIC-SCHIZOPHRENIC PATIENTS

1. 1. The interrelationship between the following psychophysiological, biochemical and clinical measures have been investigated in a group of unmedicated chronic schizophrenics; skin conductance level and orienting responses to tones; heart rate; excretion of vanillylmandelic acid (VMA), sulphate and total methoxyhydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG); clinical ratings of symptom severity. 2. 2. More severely ill subjects showed evidence of overarousal and had higher skin conductance levels and heart rates, and less habituation of skin conductance orienting responses to tones than the less severely ill. These measures were not related to ratings of anxiety. 3. 3. Physiological measures of peripheral autonomic function (skin conductance level and heart rate) were unexpectedly inversely related to VMA excretion, a noradrenaline metabolite putatively of peripheral origin, and to MHPG excretion. 4. 4. The central processes of habituation and symptom severity were more closely related to excretion of MHPG than VMA. This offers support for the suggestion that this noradrenaline metabolite more closely reflects brain noradrenaline turnover than VMA. The inverse relationship between MHPG excretion and measures of arousal suggests that brain noradrenergic transmission is not directly related to arousal levels in schizophrenia. 5. 5. Studies of these variables in control subjects will determine whether these findings are specific to schizophrenia. © 1979.