title: Event-related potentials during rule processing in schizophrenia.
abstract: Several studies have shown that schizophrenia is characterized by impaired frontal lobe functions, functions that are responsible, for example, for the management of rules, strategic reasoning, and selective attention. Using event-related potentials (ERP), we assessed the brain's electrical activity in a group of patients with schizophrenia (n=11) and a healthy control group (n=14) during a reaction time task requiring the use of a rule. ERP waves were compared with those elicited in a similar task based on a direct sensory association. In the control group, ERP analyses showed a negative wave moving from the posterior to the anterior regions of the scalp in a latency range of 250-400 ms. Then, the negativity remained at the frontal scalp region in a latency range of 400-800 ms. In this group, the amplitude was higher during the rule operation than during the sensory association task. In schizophrenic patients, the anteroposterior component of the negative wave was totally absent in both tasks, and we did not find a modulation of the ERP by the task. Frontal scalp negativity was observed, but its latency was longer and its amplitude lower than in the control group. We discuss these findings in terms of the frontoposterior disconnection hypothesis.
authors.affiliation: Institut des Sciences Cognitives, CNRS UPR 9075, Bron, France. posada@isc.cnrs.fr
authors.forename: Andres
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Posada
authors.forename: Tiziana
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zalla
authors.forename: Pascal
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Vianin
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Georgieff
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Franck
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D032882:Comprehension / Q000502:physiology*; D003265:Contingent Negative Variation / Q000502:physiology; D004292:Dominance, Cerebral / Q000502:physiology; D004569:Electroencephalography; D018913:Event-Related Potentials, P300 / Q000502:physiology; D005071:Evoked Potentials / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000503:physiopathology; D011340:Problem Solving / Q000502:physiology*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D012016:Reference Values; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology