[Inhibition of the imprinting process by treatment with serum from schizophrenic patients].

The influence of blood serum from schizophrenia patients on imprinting was studied in 62 leghorns. Intraperitoneal injection to the chickens in the sensitive period of 1.5-2 ml of schizophrenia patients' blood serum before imprinting results in inhibition of the imprinting process over 1.5-4 hours, thus indicating that the chickens temporarily lose the ability to imprint. Meanwhile the injection to the control chickens of the same amount of serum from normal subjects, as well as of saline did not inhibit imprinting. It is suggested that the duration of inhibition of imprinting might depend on the toxicity of schizophrenia patients' serum. A conclusion is made that inhibition of imprinting in the sensitive period of the chickens in response to the injection of schizophrenics' serum can be used as an indicator of the patients' blood serum toxicity.