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. 2025 Jul 25;25(1):726.
doi: 10.1186/s12888-025-07173-9.

Relationship between cognitive functions and serum neurotrophic factor levels in long-term hospitalized male patients with schizophrenia

Pan Jing  1   2 , Xiaopeng Yin  1   2 , Haihang Yu  1 , Ye Fu  3 , Fangmin Wang  1 , Xi Mei  1 , Qiaozhen Zhang  1 , Qing Tian  4 , Xiaobin Zhang  5
Affiliations

Relationship between cognitive functions and serum neurotrophic factor levels in long-term hospitalized male patients with schizophrenia

Pan Jing et al. BMC Psychiatry. .

Abstract

Objective: This study explored the changes in serum neurotrophic factor levels, the status of cognitive function, event-related potential P300, and the relationships between serum neurotrophic factor levels and cognitive functions, as well as event-related potential P300 in male schizophrenia patients with long-term hospitalization.

Methods: A total of 82 male schizophrenia patients with long-term hospitalization and 52 healthy controls were recruited. Cognitive functions were evaluated in all participants, including verbal fluency function, attention function, executive function, and spatial function. Event-related potential P300 latency and amplitude were recorded using the Nicolet Viking Quest evoked potential system (USA). The serum levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) were measured in all participants using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

Results: The patient group exhibited significantly poorer performance in all cognitive functions compared to the control group (p < 0.05). The patient group exhibited a statistically significant prolongation in P300 latency and a reduction in P300 amplitude compared to the control group (P < 0.01). In addition, serum BDNF levels were significantly lower in the patient group (9.1 ± 2.1 ng/ml) compared to the control group (11.6 ± 2.3 ng/ml, P < 0.01). Serum GDNF levels were 603.4 ± 182.6 pg/ml in the patient group and 610.2 ± 176.3 pg/ml in the control group, showing no statistically significant difference (P > 0.05). Onset levels were significantly correlated with almost all cognitive functions. BDNF levels were correlated to digital cancellation test scores (P < 0.05) and trail making test part B (TMT-part B) scores (P < 0.05). Moreover, a correlation was found between GDNF levels and block design test scores (P < 0.05). The latency of P300 was correlated to digital cancellation test scores (P < 0.01) and trail making test part A (TMT-part A) scores (P < 0.05). The amplitude of P300 was correlated with digital cancellation test scores (P < 0.01).

Conclusions: This study reveals that patients with chronic schizophrenia suffer from notable cognitive deficits during long-term hospitalization, which is linked to specific clinical characteristics. The patient group exhibited significantly lower serum BDNF levels than the control group. Event-related potential P300 testing revealed prolonged latency and reduced amplitude in patients. Serum BDNF and GDNF levels were selectively correlated with specific cognitive function performance.

Keywords: Schizophrenia; BDNF; Cognitive functions; Event-related potentials; GDNF; Neurotrophic factors.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: We declare that all experiments on human subjects were conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and that all procedures were carried out with the adequate understanding and written consent of the subjects. All experimental protocols were approved by the Ethics Committee of WuTaiShan Hospital of Yangzhou University. Informed consent was obtained from all the participants and/or their legal guardians. All methods were carried out in accordance with relevant guidelines and regulations. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
A Serum BDNF levels in patient group and control group. B Serum GDNF levels in patients group and control group. C P300 latency in patient group and control group. D P300 amplitude in patient group and control group
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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