Improved test-retest reliability of 50-ms paired-click auditory gating using magnetoencephalography source modeling

Used to study filtering abnormalities in schizophrenia, the paired-click paradigm suffers from poor test-retest reliability of the gating ratio, calculated from the P50 component of the ERP recorded at Cz approximately 50 ms following each of two stimuli. This study sought to improve reliability by assessing 50-ms gating at primary auditory cortices (PAC), the main generators of the P50 Cz component. MEG source modeling was used, taking advantage of the tangentially oriented PAC sources. Ten healthy subjects underwent three sessions, during which Cz-based and PAC-derived gating was measured. Unlike Cz P50, gating ratios at bilateral PACs achieved an intraclass coefficient of .8 or greater. Variability of gating within the same subject was also significantly smaller for bilateral PACs than for Cz P50. Paired-click gating ratio reliability can be improved by examining the individual PACs rather than composite scalp-recorded activity.