[Pathophysiology of psychiatric disorders revealed by clinical neurophysiology]

Clinical neurophysiological finidngs in schizophrenia can be categoraized into three groups: abnormalities of P50 and prepulse inhibition in the risk stage, those of P300 and N100 in the onset stage, and those of MMN in the chronic stage. These findings correspond to the pathophysiological development of schizophrenia through the clinical stages, respectively: filtering dysfunction as a predisposition, sensory dysfunction around the first psychotic episode, and higher cognitive dysfunction during the chronic course. Such brain dysfunctions can also be demonstrated by near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) examination in clinical settings. Establishing biomarkers as a clinical laboratory test for the diagnosis and treatment of psychiatric disorders and sharing the obtained results among patients and medical professionals are expected to facilitate patient-centered psychiatric practice.