Résumé : In 27 normal adult subjects, pre- and postimperative phases of the CNV had an homogeneous pattern. The return to the baseline was of short duration (320 +/- 170 msec) whatever the amplitude and surface. This is in favor of an active mechanism terminating the CNV. In 27 schizophrenic and 13 schizoaffective patients, pre- and postimperative phases of the CNV were heterogeneous in character suggesting the possibility of multiple disturbances. When present, the preimperative negativity was of lower amplitude and had a delayed return to the baseline with a wider dispersion. In the patients with preimperative negativity followed by a PINV (postimperative negative variation), a linear relationship has been found between the amplitudes of the two waves.