Color discrimination in schizophrenia

Neuropsychiatric conditions that involve dopaminergic depletion have been associated with color discrimination deficits along the blue-hue (tritan, or short-wavelength-sensitive) axis. Because dopamine dysregulation may be a major factor in schizophrenia, we investigated color vision in this disorder. The performance of males with schizophrenia (SZ, n=16) and normal male control subjects (CS, n=14) was evaluated on five measures of color discrimination. SZ made more hue discrimination errors than CS, but no pattern emerged regarding a hue-specific axis of deficit. Dosage of anti-psychotic medication was not correlated with performance on hue discrimination. These results suggest that in medicated patients with schizophrenia, the dopaminergic disturbance, which may involve system hyperactivity, does not produce tritan-specific color deficits that have been observed in disorders involving dopaminergic hypoactivity.