title: Early- and late-latency gamma auditory steady-state response in schizophrenia during closed eyes: Does hallucination status matter?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Auditory steady-state responses are larger in patients experiencing auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH) than in never hallucinating subjects (NH) when recorded with open eyes. Compensatory effects were shown for schizophrenic patients when recorded with closed eyes. This effect has not been evaluated in respect to hallucination status.
  
  
  METHODS
  Gamma responses to 40Hz stimulation were recorded in 15AVH patients, 25 healthy controls and 11NH patients with closed eyes. Mean and peak evoked amplitude and phase-locking index, peak time and maximal frequency were extracted for early- and late-latency responses and compared between groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Phase-locking of early, but not late-latency gamma was diminished in schizophrenic patients independently on hallucination status. Peak entrainment time was delayed in hallucinating patients. Magnitude and frequency of early-latency response correlated to negative symptoms.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In AVH patients, entrainment at gamma frequency was "normal" when eyes were closed. In contrast to never hallucinating subjects, entrainment to stimulation was delayed in AVH. The early-latency gamma response, standing for early sensory stimulus processing, on the contrary, was impaired in SZ irrespective of prevalence of hallucinations and was not modulated by subjects' general state; however its magnitude might be related to the expression of negative symptomatology.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Evaluation of auditory entrainment in both open eyes and closed eyes conditions is informative. Frequency and timing information of both early-latency and late-latency responses helps to uncover different aspects of impairment in schizophrenia patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology and Biophysics, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania; Republican Vilnius Psychiatric Hospital, Vilnius, Lithuania. Electronic address: i.griskova@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Inga
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Griskova-Bulanova
authors.affiliation: Translational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hubl
authors.affiliation: Translational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: van Swam
authors.affiliation: Translational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Dierks
authors.affiliation: Translational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Koenig
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005072:Evoked Potentials, Auditory / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006212:Hallucinations / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000503:physiopathology*
keywords: Auditory steady-state response; Gamma activity; Hallucinations; Schizophrenia