Sex specific event-related potential (ERP) correlates of depression in schizophrenia

Depressive symptoms in schizophrenia are common, more so in women, but associated neurobiological mechanisms are poorly understood. The current study investigated sex differences in the relationship between depression and brain function, as measured using event-related potentials (ERPs), in people with schizophrenia.

Fourteen men and 14 women with schizophrenia, matched on age of illness onset and illness duration, were assessed for depression using the Calgary Depression Scale. ERP amplitudes were measured during an auditory oddball task in response to target (P3b, anterior N100) and novel (P3a, posterior N100) stimuli.

Depression was significantly positively associated with early perceptual processing in response to novels in men (parietal N100 amplitude), and with a later processing stage (parietal P3b) in women. No association was found for anterior P3a.

Results suggest that temporally distinct pathophysiological mechanisms are involved in depression in men compared to women, at least in the context of schizophrenia.