Abnormalities of auditory event-related potentials in students with high scores on the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire
Author: Gassab L, Mechri A, Dogui M, Gaha L, d'Amato T, Dalery J, Saoud M.
Source:
Psychiatry research, 144(2-3), 117-122.
Some auditory event-related potential (ERP) abnormalities characterize both
patients with schizophrenia and subjects with schizotypal personality disorder.
It was therefore hypothesized that subjects from the community with schizotypal
traits might also present ERP abnormalities. In this study, we compared auditory
ERP latencies and amplitudes in 13 subjects with high (H-SPQ) and 12 subjects
with low (L-SPQ) scores on the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ),
selected from 198 Tunisian students. Auditory ERPs were recorded at Fz, Cz, and
Pz, with a standard oddball paradigm. Smaller P300 amplitudes and delayed P300
latencies were found in H-SPQ compared with L-SPQ participants. Confirming
previous reports, our results suggest that reduced P300 amplitudes and delayed
P300 latencies may be considered as vulnerability markers of the schizophrenia
spectrum in nonclinical subjects from the community