ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: Schizophrenia is characterized by disturbances in perception and cognition. Attenuated mismatch negativity (MMN) reflects central auditory dysfunction in schizophrenia. The aim of this study is to compare MMN changes before and after treatment in schizophrenia patients and to assess their association with treatment response. METHODS: Twenty-three schizophrenia patients underwent an oddball paradigm. MMN was calculated by the difference waveforms of the event-related potentials (ERPs) elicited by subtracting standard from deviant stimulus. The clinical symptoms were measured by the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), the Psychotic Symptom Rating Scale (PSYRATS). Follow-up evaluation was conducted when the PANSS total score decreased by 30% or more (treatment response group) or before discharge (non-response group). RESULTS: The treatment response group showed significantly larger MMN amplitude improvement and latency reduction than the non-response group after treatment (Fz ; mean amplitude p = 0.035, FCz ; p = 0.041). The auditory hallucination group showed shorter latency than that of the group without hallucinations. Additionally, auditory hallucination was associated with prolonged MMN latency and shortened after treatment in the auditory hallucination response group (Fz ; p = 0.048). CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that the attenuated MMN amplitude reflects the progression of the disease. The increment of MMN amplitude and shortening of latency after treatment may reflect cognitive functional recovery of central auditory sensory processing.