Abnormalities of auditory event-related potentials in students with high scores on the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire

Gassab, Leila; Mechri, Anwar; Dogui, Mohamed; Gaha, Lotfi; d'Amato, Thierry; Dalery, Jean; Saoud, Mohamed

doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2004.09.010

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Volume 144, Issue 2 , Pages 117-122, 15 November 2006

Abnormalities of auditory event-related potentials in students with high scores on the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire

Leila Gassab
- Unité de Recherche en Psychiatrie, Faculté de Médecine de Monastir, 5019 Monastir, Tunisia
Anwar Mechri
- Unité de Recherche en Psychiatrie, Faculté de Médecine de Monastir, 5019 Monastir, Tunisia
Mohamed Dogui
- Laboratoire d'Exploration Fonctionnelle du Système Nerveux Central, Faculté de Médecine de Monastir, CHU Sehloul, Sousse, Tunisia
Lotfi Gaha
- Unité de Recherche en Psychiatrie, Faculté de Médecine de Monastir, 5019 Monastir, Tunisia
Thierry d'Amato
- Vulnérabilité à la Psychose de la Prédiction à la Prévention, Université Lyon 1, EA 3092 (IFNL 19); Centre Hospitalier Le Vinatier, Bron, F-69677, France
- Corresponding author. Tel.: +33 4 37 91 51 00; fax: +33 4 37 91 51 02.
Jean Dalery
- Vulnérabilité à la Psychose de la Prédiction à la Prévention, Université Lyon 1, EA 3092 (IFNL 19); Centre Hospitalier Le Vinatier, Bron, F-69677, France
Mohamed Saoud
- Vulnérabilité à la Psychose de la Prédiction à la Prévention, Université Lyon 1, EA 3092 (IFNL 19); Centre Hospitalier Le Vinatier, Bron, F-69677, France

Received 8 August 2003; received in revised form 28 August 2004; accepted 8 September 2004.

Abstract

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.

Keywords: Schizotypal personality disorder, Evoked potentials, P300 component, Schizophrenia, Vulnerability markers