Neurophysiology for Detection of High Risk for Psychosis

Schizophrenia is a complex and often disabling disorder that is characterized by a wide range of social, emotional, and cognitivedeficits. Increasing research suggests that the greatest social and cognitive therapeutic impact comes from early identification. Thepresent study applied a well-established neurophysiological paradigm in the schizophrenia literature, mismatch negativity (MMN),to college students identified as high risk (HR) for psychosis to investigate MMN as a potential biomarker for the onset of psychosis.The hypothesis was that HR would exhibit attenuated MMN amplitudes compared to controls, as has been established in individualswith chronic schizophrenia. Participants (𝑁=121) were separated into Group 1 (controls) (𝑛1=72) and Group 2 (HR) (𝑛2=49)based on the established cutoff score of the 16-item Prodromal Questionnaire. Participants then completed a time based MMNparadigm during which brain activity was recorded with EEG. For all electrode locations, controls demonstrated significantly morenegative amplitudes than HR (𝐶𝑧:𝐹(1,119)=8.09,𝑝=.005;𝐹𝑧:𝐹(1,119)=5.74,𝑝=.018;𝑃𝑧:𝐹(1,119)=5.88,𝑝=.017).Results suggested that MMN may assist in identifying those who appear high-functioning but may be at risk for later developmentof psychosis or cognitive and psychological difficulties associated with psychosis.