[Neuromorphologic and psychological correlates of electrical brain activity in patients with schizophrenia and their...

The study aimed at elucidation of potential correlations between EEG features, neuromorphologic and psychological characteristics in patients with schizophrenia and in subjects with familial predisposition to the disease. EEG has been conducted in 71 patients, 162 first-degree relatives of schizophrenia subjects and 67 healthy controls. In the patients and relatives, correlations of power indices for 7 frequency ranges of resting EEG with computed tomography and cognitive parameters were analyzed. The patients revealed negative correlations between slow EEG rhythms and sizes of bodies as well as of posterior horns of lateral ventricules. Positive correlations were shown between expression of alpha- and beta-bands and verbal memory. In the relatives, an increase of slow and fast EEG rhythms power correlated with reduction of sizes of ventricular system regions studied and with deterioration of cognitive indices (mental activity, attention, memory). Overall, the data obtained indicate negative functional consequences of slow and fast EEG rhythms power augmenting in subjects at high genetic risk for schizophrenia, but do not confirm a hypothesis that ventricular enlargement causes EEG slowing in schizophrenia.