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Diminished Auditory Cortex Dynamic Range and its Clinical Correlates in First Episode Psychosis
Alfredo L Sklar1, Xi Ren1,2, Lydia Chlpka1,3
1Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Schizophrenia Bulletin
|February 7, 2023
Summary
Individuals with schizophrenia spectrum illness show reduced auditory cortex dynamic range, impacting social and cognitive functioning. This auditory processing deficit is linked to negative symptoms and poorer overall functioning.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychiatry
- Auditory Processing
Background:
- Sensory disruptions contribute to psychosis morbidity.
- Auditory cortex (AC) dynamic range is the scaling of neurophysiological responses to stimulus intensity.
Purpose of the Study:
- Examine AC dynamic range in individuals with schizophrenia spectrum illness (FESz).
- Investigate the relationship between AC dynamic range and clinical outcomes at disease onset.
Main Methods:
- Magnetoencephalography (MEG) recorded from 35 FESz and 40 healthy controls (HC).
- Tones presented at 75 dB, 80 dB, and 85 dB.
- Clinical assessments included MATRICS Cognitive Battery (MCCB), Global Functioning (GFR/GFS), and Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS).
Main Results:
- FESz exhibited reduced AC response and blunted intensity scaling compared to HC.
- Reduced AC dynamic range correlated with lower GFS/GFR scores, worse MCCB performance, and increased PANSS Negative symptoms in FESz.
- These correlations were not observed with AC responses to individual tones.
Conclusions:
- FESz demonstrate reduced AC dynamic range, correlating with poorer functioning and cognitive/negative symptoms.
- Impaired AC dynamic range may affect social functioning by impacting emotional content decoding in language.
- This finding highlights the importance of AC dynamic range for future sensory remediation therapies.
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