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Increased spontaneous gamma power and synchrony in schizophrenia patients having higher minor physical anomalies

Sai Krishna Tikka1, Shamsul Haque Nizamie, Basudeb Das

  • 1Department of Psychiatry, Central Institute of Psychiatry, Kanke, Ranchi 834006, Jharkhand, India. cricsai@gmail.com

Psychiatry Research
|October 12, 2012
PubMed

Insights

Schizophrenia patients with more minor physical anomalies show increased gamma oscillations and synchrony on EEG. This suggests a distinct neurodevelopmental subgroup may exist in schizophrenia.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Psychiatry
  • Genetics

Background:

  • Minor physical anomalies (MPAs) are more frequent in schizophrenia, supporting neurodevelopmental theories.
  • Abnormal gamma oscillations (>30 Hz) in electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings of schizophrenia patients are linked to developmental insults.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate spontaneous gamma oscillations in schizophrenia patients with varying numbers of MPAs.
  • To explore the relationship between MPAs, gamma oscillations, and potential neurodevelopmental origins in schizophrenia.

Main Methods:

  • Assessed 40 drug-naïve/free schizophrenia patients and 20 healthy controls for MPAs using the Extended Waldrop Scale (EWS).
  • Recorded awake, resting 192-channel EEG data from all participants.
  • Estimated spontaneous gamma spectral power and coherence in low- (30-50 Hz) and high-gamma (51-100 Hz) bands.

Main Results:

  • Schizophrenia patients with high MPAs exhibited significantly higher high-gamma band power (71-100 Hz) over left frontal, parietal, and temporal regions compared to controls.
  • Increased low-gamma band power (30-50 Hz) was observed in high-MPA patients over right frontal, parietal, and temporal regions.
  • Significantly higher regional intra- and inter-hemispheric coherence in the low-gamma band was found in the high-MPA schizophrenia subgroup versus controls.

Conclusions:

  • This study provides the first evidence of elevated spontaneous gamma power and synchrony in schizophrenia patients with higher MPA counts.
  • Findings support the hypothesis that increased gamma activity in schizophrenia may be associated with a distinct neurodevelopmental subgroup.
  • The results highlight the potential of MPAs and gamma oscillations as biomarkers for specific schizophrenia subtypes with neurodevelopmental underpinnings.

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