Scalp distribution of slow cortical potentials in schizophrenic patients.

Surface-negative slow cortical potentials (SPs) indicate increased excitability of the underlying cortical networks. Deviant patterns of SPs in schizophrenic patients may reveal in atypical regulation of cortical excitability. This hypothesis was examined by comparing SP-scalp distribution between patients with a chronic schizophrenic disorder and matched control Ss using reaction time paradigms. In study I (12 Ss/group) a CNV was evoked during a 3-s visual S1, while the parallel presentation of clicks at various time intervals should "probe" the brain state during the CNV. The CNV showed a frontal predominance in patients compared to a centroparietal maximum in controls, suggesting an atypical spatio-temporal regulation of SPs in patients. Similar modulation of probe-evoked responses parallel to the CNV in both groups indicated the functional significance of SPs to be similar in schizophrenics and controls. In study II (17 Ss/group) association between a visual S1 and a lateralised tactile S2 allowed fast responses with the respective hand. This association could be formed in one trial series, while the side of tactile stimulation was unpredictable in another. Feedback of response adequacy was provided 1.5 s after S2. Groupds did not differ in mean CNV-amplitudes or -lateralisation. On the other hand, patients developed a pronounced, broadly distributed feedback-preceding negativity (FNP) on all trials, while controls exhibited a right-hemisperic FPN only, when the side of S2 was unpredictable and feedback became salient.