Psychiatry Department, Ilsan Paik Hospital, Inje University, Goyang, Republic of Korea.
Neurosci Res. 2010 Jun;67(2):172-80. doi: 10.1016/j.neures.2010.03.001. Epub 2010 Mar 7.
This study was designed to clarify the consecutive temporal mechanisms and gender effects underlying facial affect processing in patients with schizophrenia and normal controls through electrophysiological measurements. The following four event-related potential (ERP) components were chosen as indexes of four distinct stages: P100, N170, N250, and P300. A total of 38 schizophrenia patients (22 females) and 38 normal controls (20 females) were recruited. ERPs were recorded while participants identified emotions in images of faces showing three different states: happy, fearful and neutral. The mean peak amplitude of N170 was significantly lower in schizophrenia patients than in normal controls. The mean peak amplitudes of N170 and N250 for fearful emotion were significantly higher than that for happy emotion. The latencies of N170, and P300 were longer in schizophrenia patients than in normal controls. Gender effects were found for P100 peak amplitude and N170 latency, and significant interactions with gender were found for P300 amplitudes and P100 latency. Our results provide evidences of the dysfunctional ERP patterns underlying facial affect processing in schizophrenia patients. Furthermore, the results suggest that gender could be an important controlling factor for facial affect processing in schizophrenia patients.
本研究旨在通过电生理测量，阐明精神分裂症患者和正常对照者面部情感加工的连续时间机制和性别效应。选择以下四个事件相关电位（ERP）成分作为四个不同阶段的指标：P100、N170、N250 和 P300。共招募了 38 名精神分裂症患者（22 名女性）和 38 名正常对照者（20 名女性）。当参与者识别出面部表情图像中的三种不同状态（快乐、恐惧和中性）的情绪时，记录 ERP。N170 的平均峰值振幅在精神分裂症患者中明显低于正常对照组。恐惧情绪的 N170 和 N250 的平均峰值振幅明显高于快乐情绪。N170 和 P300 的潜伏期在精神分裂症患者中长于正常对照组。P100 峰振幅和 N170 潜伏期存在性别效应，P300 振幅和 P100 潜伏期存在显著的性别交互作用。我们的研究结果为精神分裂症患者面部情感加工的异常 ERP 模式提供了证据。此外，结果表明，性别可能是精神分裂症患者面部情感加工的一个重要控制因素。
