Preliminary studies of alpha rhythm and neuropsychological impairment in schizophrenia

Patients with chronic schizophrenia had their EEGs recorded during medication withdrawal. Neuropsychological testing was done on the same patients during a period of 'optimum' functioning during neuroleptic treatment. Correlations between alpha activity, verbal IQ and Halsted-Reitan battery performance were evident over the entire scalp. This led us to examine whether these correlations were related to the inability of a substantial proportion of these patients to generate significant alpha activity. Patients unable to generate significant alpha activity tended to have neuropsychological impairment. These preliminary results suggest that this measure of brain physiology may relate to functional impairment in schizophrenia.