Neurophysiology for Detection of High Risk for Psychosis

Abstract EN

Schizophrenia is a complex and often disabling disorder that is characterized by a wide range of social, emotional, and cognitive deficits.

Increasing research suggests that the greatest social and cognitive therapeutic impact comes from early identification.

The present study applied a well-established neurophysiological paradigm in the schizophrenia literature, mismatch negativity (MMN), to college students identified as high risk (HR) for psychosis to investigate MMN as a potential biomarker for the onset of psychosis.

The hypothesis was that HR would exhibit attenuated MMN amplitudes compared to controls, as has been established in individuals with chronic schizophrenia.

Participants ( N = 121 ) were separated into Group 1 (controls) ( n 1 = 72 ) and Group 2 (HR) ( n 2 = 49 ) based on the established cutoff score of the 16-item Prodromal Questionnaire.

Participants then completed a time based MMN paradigm during which brain activity was recorded with EEG.

For all electrode locations, controls demonstrated significantly more negative amplitudes than HR ( C z : F ( 1,119 ) = 8.09 , p = .

005 ; F z : F ( 1 , 119 ) = 5.74 , p = .

018 ; P z : F ( 1,119 ) = 5.88 , p = .

017 ).

Results suggested that MMN may assist in identifying those who appear high-functioning but may be at risk for later development of psychosis or cognitive and psychological difficulties associated with psychosis.