Auditory N100 gating in patients with schizophrenia: A systematic meta-analysis

The study sought to assess the presence of auditory N100 gating deficits in patients with schizophrenia by meta-analysis.

Literature was screened for studies on patients with schizophrenia that used the paired-click paradigm and reported N100 data. Both electroencephalographic and magnetoencephalographic studies were considered. N100 gating measures as well as the N100 amplitudes to the initial and repeated stimulus were extracted and subjected to a meta-analysis.

The literature research revealed 29 studies, reporting either N100 gating or N100 amplitude measures in paired-click experiments. Patients with schizophrenia exhibited less N100 gating than healthy controls across studies (mean g = -0.405, SE = 0.051). However, what appeared as a gating deficit in patients was due to reduced N100 amplitudes to the initial stimulus in this group (mean g = 0.610, SE = 0.075). Patients and controls did not differ in their N100 amplitudes to the repeated stimulus (mean g = 0.042, SE = 0.066).

There is no evidence for an auditory N100 gating deficit in schizophrenia, but for an impaired N100 response recovery.

Previous findings on impaired N100 gating in schizophrenia patients reflect deficient processing of auditory salience rather than defective inhibition of repeating redundant auditory stimulation.