Mismatch negativity in patients with schizophrenia

Abstract

Cognitive deficit is considered to be a part of core dysfuncions in schizophrenia. It is associated with social impairment and influences the long-term course of the disorder. In addition to neuropsychological methods, event-related potentials can be used to study cognitive functions. In patients with schizophrenia an association was found between amplitude changes in slow negative component of evoked responses and infrequent deviations in a series of uniform stimuli. This amplitude change is known as "mismatch negativity" (MMN). It is supposed to be independent of the focused attention and effort that otherwise interfere with neuropsychological testing. Recently accumulated knowledge on MMN as a possible preattentive measure of cognition supports its potential significance for neuropsychological assessment. It may be helpful in more precise diagnosis and functional evaluation of schizophrenia.