Stability of mismatch negativity event-related potentials in a multisite study
Brian J Roach1, Holly K Hamilton1,2, Peter Bachman3
1Department of Psychiatry, San Francisco Veterans Affairs Healthcare System, San Francisco, California, USA.
International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research
|April 2, 2020
Summary
Mismatch negativity (MMN) amplitude is stable across sites and can be standardized for longitudinal studies. This auditory event-related potential aids in understanding clinical features in schizophrenia and psychosis risk.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychiatry
Background:
- Mismatch negativity (MMN) is an auditory event-related potential reflecting deviance detection.
- Reduced MMN is observed in schizophrenia and psychosis risk, indicating potential utility in clinical studies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate a regression approach for accounting for site and age effects in MMN.
- To assess the one-year stability of MMN in healthy adults.
Main Methods:
- Assessed MMN stability (frequency, duration, double deviant) in 167 healthy subjects over 52 weeks at 8 sites.
- Used linear regression for age/site effects, derived standardized MMN z-scores, and calculated Generalizability (G) coefficients for stability.
- Correlated averaged MMN across occasions with subject traits to capture trait-like aspects.
Main Results:
- Age and site explained <7% of MMN variance.
- MMN amplitude at Fz showed good stability (G=0.63) across deviants and sites within a fixed window, unlike latency (G=0.37).
- Standardized frequency deviant MMN z-scores negatively correlated with global functioning assessment.
Conclusions:
- MMN amplitude is a stable measure.
- Standardization of MMN amplitude facilitates multisite longitudinal studies.
- MMN can be utilized to investigate clinical features in psychiatric disorders.
