Behavioral and P3 amplitude enhancement in schizophrenia following feedback training

Schizophr Res. 1997 Jun 20;25(3):231-42. doi: 10.1016/s0920-9964(97)00028-5.

Abstract

In order to clarify the remediability of behavioral and electrophysiological abnormalities in schizophrenia, hit rate, reaction time, and P3 amplitude from auditory event-related potentials were evaluated before and after feedback training of a task in 14 schizophrenics and 12 age-matched normal controls. Although mean changes in the three indices due to the training were nonsignificant in both schizophrenic and normal control groups as a whole, the changes in hit rate and reaction time correlated significantly with the P3 amplitude change in the schizophrenic (r = 0.60 and -0.58, respectively) but not in the normal control group. The P3 amplitude change also correlated with the P3 amplitude before the training only in the schizophrenic group (r = -0.68), suggesting that the training was more effective for the schizophrenic patients with marked P3 amplitude reduction. The observed P3 amplitude increase due to training may represent an electrophysiological correlate of a remediable aspect of behavioral deficits in schizophrenics, which may underlie the effectiveness of nonpharmacological treatments.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Arousal / physiology*
  • Attention / physiology*
  • Cerebral Cortex / physiopathology
  • Electroencephalography*
  • Evoked Potentials, Auditory / physiology*
  • Feedback / physiology*
  • Female
  • Fourier Analysis
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Pitch Discrimination / physiology
  • Reaction Time / physiology*
  • Schizophrenia / diagnosis
  • Schizophrenia / physiopathology*
  • Schizophrenia / rehabilitation
  • Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted