[Recent topics in neurophysiological studies of patients with schizophrenia]

It has been suggested that psychotic symptoms of schizophrenia are associated with brain dysfunction at least to some extent. This article overviewed hot topics in neurophysiological studies of patients with schizophrenia. Moreover, it focused on recent findings in electroencephalography and magnetoencephalography. First, the author introduced auditory mismatch negativities (MMN), auditory P300, face N170, and gamma band neural oscillations. Findings of MMN and P300 supported schizophrenia being characterized by brain dysfunctions, some of which occur before full symptom onset and some progress in the 1-2 years after onset. In addition, neurophysiological indices for social dysfunction may lead to new preventive approaches. Finally, neural oscillations are possible translational paradigms, since they can be recorded from animals, healthy subjects, and patients with schizophrenia. To understand the pathophysiology of schizophrenia, neurophysiological efforts are important.