Changes in event-related potentials in patients with first-episode schizophrenia and their siblings

摘要

Background This study aimed to explore the characteristics of event-related potentials induced by facial emotion recognition in patients with first-episode schizophrenia and in their siblings. Methods In this case-control study, 30 first-episode schizophrenia patients, 26 siblings, and 30 healthy controls were enrolled. They completed facial emotion recognition tasks from the Ekman Standard Faces Database as an induction for evoked potentials. Evoked potential data were obtained using a 64-channel electroencephalography system. Average evoked potential waveforms were computed from epochs for each stimulus type. The amplitudes and latency of the event-related potentials for P100 (positive potential 100?ms after stimulus onset), N170 (negative potential 170?ms after stimulus onset), and N250 (fronto-central peak) were investigated at O1, O2, P7, and P8 electrode locations. Results There were significant differences between the groups for P100 amplitude (F?=?11.526, P Conclusions Patients with schizophrenia showed abnormalities in P100 amplitude, but similar results were not observed in their siblings. These results provide evidence of dysfunctional event-related potential patterns underlying facial emotion processing in patients with schizophrenia. P100 may be a characteristic index of schizophrenia.