Deficits in Go and NoGo P3 potentials in patients with schizophrenia

• Published in: Psychiatry research Vol. 254; pp. 126 - 132
• Main Authors: Ertekin, Erhan, Üçok, Alp, Keskin-Ergen, Yasemin, Devrim-Üçok, Müge
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Ireland Elsevier B.V 01.08.2017
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Continuous performance test; CPT; Cues; Electroencephalography - methods; Event-related potentials; Evoked Potentials - physiology; Female; Frontal Lobe - physiopathology; Humans; Male; P300; Psychiatry; Reaction Time - physiology; Schizophrenia; Schizophrenia - diagnosis; Schizophrenia - physiopathology; Schizophrenic Psychology; Young Adult; Schizophrenia; Event-related potentials; P3; Continuous performance test; P300; CPT; event-related potentials
• ISSN: 0165-1781; 1872-7123; 1872-7123
• DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2017.04.052

Cognitive control processes elicited during a cued continuous performance test were evaluated using event-related potentials in 46 patients who were within the first 5 years of diagnosis of schizophrenia, and 29 healthy controls. Patients had longer reaction times, lower hit rates, and higher false alarm rates compared with controls. Patients had an overall P3 amplitude reduction that was more prominent on NoGo compared with Go trials. This greater P3 reduction on NoGo trials was present in central and parietal regions, but was absent in the frontal region, where the P3 reduction was comparable on NoGo and Go trials. Our findings suggest that the neural activity contributing to Go and NoGo P3s are both deteriorated in schizophrenia, but those contributing to central and parietal NoGo P3s are the most severely affected ones. We conclude that the cognitive control processes engaged during execution, and particularly during inhibition of a prepared motor response were disturbed in the early course of schizophrenia. Our findings might be related to our sample being in relatively early stages of schizophrenia and/or related to the use of atypical antipsychotics by most of our patients. •Go and NoGo P3s were elicited during CPT in schizophrenia patients.•Patients were within the first 5 years of diagnosis of schizophrenia.•Go and particularly NoGo P3s were smaller in patients compared to controls.•P3 reduction was greater on NoGo compared to Go trials in centroparietal regions.•Central and parietal NoGo P3s are the most severely affected ones in patients.