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Mismatch negativity indices of enhanced preattentive automatic processing in panic disorder as measured by a
Yi Chang1, Jing Xu1, Xiaomei Pang1
1Department of Neurology and Psychiatry, First Affiliated Hospital, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, Liaoning Province, China; Research Institute of Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine of Dalian Medical University, Dalian, Liaoning Province, China.
Abstract:
Panic disorder (PD) is a mental disorder characterized by recurrent panic attacks and worrying about having subsequent attacks. Mismatch negativity (MMN) has been established as a correlate of preattentive automatic processing. The aim of the present study is to investigate the preattentive automatic information processing in PD patients as measured by MMN. Subjects included 15 medication-free patients with a DSM-IV diagnosis of PD and 15 age-matched healthy volunteers. MMN was investigated using event-related potentials. The protocol used a multi-feature paradigm. Mean amplitudes and peak latencies were subjected to repeated-measures ANOVAs. PD patients showed a significantly increased MMN of sound intensity and location compared with healthy participants. The correlation between the amplitudes of intensity-MMN and disease severity was also significant. These data provide evidence of anomalous preattentive automatic information processing in PD patients. In particular, the abnormality may be specific for PD.
