School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia; Neuroscience Research Australia, Sydney, Australia.
Int J Psychophysiol. 2013 Sep;89(3):374-80. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2013.05.008. Epub 2013 May 21.
Identification of markers of abnormal brain function in children at-risk of schizophrenia may inform early intervention and prevention programs. Individuals with schizophrenia are characterised by attenuation of MMN amplitude, which indexes automatic auditory sensory processing. The current aim was to examine whether children who may be at increased risk of schizophrenia due to their presenting multiple putative antecedents of schizophrenia (ASz) are similarly characterised by MMN amplitude reductions, relative to typically developing (TD) children. EEG was recorded from 22 ASz and 24 TD children aged 9 to 12 years (matched on age, sex, and IQ) during a passive auditory oddball task (15% duration deviant). ASz children were those presenting: (1) speech and/or motor development lags/problems; (2) social, emotional, or behavioural problems in the clinical range; and (3) psychotic-like experiences. TD children presented no antecedents, and had no family history of a schizophrenia spectrum disorder. MMN amplitude, but not latency, was significantly greater at frontal sites in the ASz group than in the TD group. Although the MMN exhibited by the children at risk of schizophrenia was unlike that of their typically developing peers, it also differed from the reduced MMN amplitude observed in adults with schizophrenia. This may reflect developmental and disease effects in a pre-prodromal phase of psychosis onset. Longitudinal follow-up is necessary to establish the developmental trajectory of MMN in at-risk children.
识别有精神分裂症风险的儿童大脑功能异常的标志物，可能有助于早期干预和预防计划。精神分裂症患者的 MMN 幅度减弱，这反映了自动听觉感觉处理。本研究旨在探讨由于存在多种可能的精神分裂症前驱症状（ASz）而处于更高精神分裂症风险的儿童是否也具有 MMN 幅度降低的特征，与典型发育（TD）儿童相比。从 22 名 ASz 儿童和 24 名年龄在 9 至 12 岁（年龄、性别和智商匹配）的 TD 儿童中记录了脑电图，这些儿童在被动听觉Oddball 任务（15%持续时间偏差）期间。ASz 儿童具有以下特征：（1）言语和/或运动发育迟缓/问题；（2）在临床范围内具有社会、情感或行为问题；（3）出现类精神病体验。TD 儿童没有前驱症状，也没有精神分裂症谱系障碍的家族史。ASz 组的额区 MMN 幅度比 TD 组显著增加，而潜伏期则没有差异。尽管有精神分裂症风险的儿童的 MMN 与他们的典型发育同龄人不同，但与成年精神分裂症患者的 MMN 幅度降低也不同。这可能反映了精神病发病前阶段的发育和疾病影响。需要进行纵向随访以确定高危儿童 MMN 的发育轨迹。
