J Korean Neuropsychiatr Assoc.  2006 Mar;45(2):100-108.

Auditory Event-Related Potentials P300 in Patients with Schizophrenia: Analysis by Reaction Time

• Jin YT
• Nam JH
• Kang CY
• Kim SC
• Park EJ
• Han SI
• Jeon YW

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
Using two stimuli, this study was designed to evaluate variations of P300 in relations to reaction time of pressing the button for target tones in patients with schizophrenia.
METHODS
The auditory oddball paradigm was used for the patients (N=22) and normal controls (N=23). The two stimuli were composed of target (20%, 2000 Hz, 75 dB) tone and standard (80%, 1000 Hz, 75 dB) tone, with 2 sec inter-stimulus interval, 50 msec duration and 10 msec rise or fall time. In each subject, P300s were acquired for both fast reaction time (FRT) and slow reaction time (SRT) to target response.
RESULTS
P300 amplitude in patients with schizophrenia was lower than controls across FRT and SRT (p<0.001), but P300 latency was not delayed (p>0.8). In this study, even though the reaction time for the button pressing task might be faster in patients with schizophrenia (p<0.1), the P300 to FRT in patients with schizophrenia was lower than the P300 to SRT in controls (p<0.01).
CONCLUSION
These results suggest that the lower P300 in patients with schizophrenia might be due to cognitive dysfunction and the patient's performance in reaction time for pressing buttons, both independently. Thus, P300 as well as reaction time may be used to further explore a variety of domains of cognitive function.

Keyword

P300; Reaction time; Schizophrenia; Auditory paradigm

MeSH Terms

Evoked Potentials*
Humans
Reaction Time*
Schizophrenia*