FIELD DEPENDENCE IN MANIC-DEPRESSIVE PATIENTS

Clinical descriptions of manic-depressive patients who are in the manic phase resemble those of field-independent individuals, whereas descriptions of these patients in the depressed phase resemble those of field-dependent people. The authors thus hypothesized that field dependency scores on symptomatic patients would change with a change in clinical state.Field dependence as measured by Oltmanʼs portable rod and frame test apparatus was determined initially in 16 symptomatic patients who were without medication. Serial measurements were made on these same patients when symptom-free on lithium carbonate and on placebo.Scores obtained showed that field dependency in these patients was unaffected by their clinical state or by lithium carbonate therapy and that these patients resembled normal volunteers in their score distribution.