Sedation threshold and Archimedes spiral after-effect: A follow-up of their use with civilian psychiatric patients

In the study reported here an attempt was made to confirm, on a more heterogeneous group of civilian patients, some previous work on sedation threshold and spiral after-effect in young military patients. Sedation threshold and spiral after-effect data were collected in thirty-eight neurotic and nine psychotic patients. The main findings of the study were as follows: (1) The practicability and reliability of the sedation threshold technique used is not restricted to the experimental setting in which it was originally devised. The method can on the contrary be applied under a variety of clinical conditions. (2) No significant differences were found in the uniformly high sedation threshold and spiral aftereffect scores of patients suffering from neurotic depression, obsessional neurosis, and chronic anxiety. Further, civilian dysthymics as a whole did not differ significantly on either test from military dysthymics. The previous work on neurotics was thus confirmed. (3) Previous findings (with military psychotics) of a significant negative correlation between sedation threshold and spiral after-effect were confirmed in the present group of schizophrenic patients.

The advantages of a psychophysiological approach to personality were reaffirmed and the possible usefulness of the sedation threshold and spiral after-effect as tools for differential diagnosis was discussed.