Somatosensory event-related potentials and selective attention impairment in young chronic schizophrenics

Somatosensory event-related potentials (SERP) were recorded in 30 chronic young schizophrenic patients and in 15 age-matched controls. Objective SERP parameters were latencies, amplitudes and the determination of areas of the cognitive components N1 and P3 by integration. Highly significantly reduced areas and prolonged latencies of the N1 component and significantly prolonged reaction times (RT) discriminate schizophrenics in psychopathological remitted state from controls. A significant correlation between decreased N1 areas and prolonged RTs (p less than 0.01), respectively high self-rating subscores 'disturbance of selective attention' (p less than 0.05) can be found only in the SERPs of the left hemisphere. Nevertheless, a reduced N1 area cannot be interpreted as an indicator of vulnerability for schizophrenia, but only for selective attention impairment.