The association of the serum levels of neuregulin-1 and gamma activity of electroencephalogram with cognitive function in patients with first-episode schizophrenia / 中国神经精神疾病杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the serum levels of neuregulin-1 (NRG-1) and the gamma activity of the prefrontal cortex of electroencephalogram (EEG) in the resting state in first-episode schizophrenia patients and exam﹣ine their correlation with clinical symptoms and cognitive function. Methods The serum levels of NRG-1 were mea﹣sured in 53 patients and 58 controls. The gamma activity was first collected from the lead of FP1 and FP2 of the pre﹣frontal cortex of EEG and was then measured by using time-frequency analysis. The psychotic symptoms were as﹣sessed by positive and negative syndrome scale (PANSS). The MATRICS consensus cognitive battery (MCCB) was used to assess the cognitive function. Results The serum levels of NRG-1 was significantly lower in the case group than in the control [(7.36±3.96) pg/mL vs. (11.02±8.78) pg/mL, P=0.006]. The gamma activity was significantly different be﹣tween the case group and the control group [39(73.6%) vs. 14(26.4%), P<0.001]. The scores of TMT in MCCB was significantly higher while the scores of BACS SC, HVLT-R, NAB, BVMT-R and CF scores were significantly lower in the case group than the control group (P<0.01). There was a negative correlation between the serum NRG-1 level and the gamma activity in the case group (r=-0.542, P<0.001). There was a negative correlation between the serum NRG-1 level with PANSS (r=-0.360, P=0.009), while the gamma activity was positively correlated with PANSS (r=0.278, P=0.046) in the case group. The serum NRG-1 level was significantly positively correlated with the scores of HVLT-R in the case group (r=0.332, P=0.016), and the gamma activity was significantly negatively correlated with the scores of HVLT-R (r=-0.442, P=0.001) and NAB (r=-0.307, P=0.027). Conclusion The serum NRG-1 level and the gamma activity are correlated with the clinical symptoms and cognitive impairment of patients with first-episode schizophrenia to some degree, suggesting that abnormal neurobiochemical and neuroelectrophysiological reactions exist and interact with each other in the early stage of schizophrenia.