P50 gating at acute and post-acute phases of first-episode schizophrenia

Deficit in P50 sensory gating has repeatedly been shown in schizophrenia. In order to determine the contribution of trait and/or state features to P50 gating deficit in schizophrenia we evaluated the P50 gating in patients with first-episode schizophrenia (FES) at acute and post-acute phases. Subject groups comprised 16 patients with FES and 24 healthy controls. Patients were tested at the acute phase of the illness and retested at the post-acute phase when their positive symptoms improved. During the testing at the acute phase five patients were neuroleptic-naive and the others were taking atypical antipsychotics which were started recently in order to control the acute excitation. Patients were receiving risperidone, olanzapine or quetiapine treatment at the post-acute phase. P50 gating was impaired in patients at the acute phase compared to controls. However, at the post-acute phase P50 gating was increased compared to the acute phase, reaching to the gating values of controls. P50 gating improvement might be emerged from atypical antipsychotic medication, although this can only be definitively determined by randomized studies including different antipsychotics.