Contingent negative variation and psychopathology: frontal-central distribution, and association with performance...

Central and frontal contingent negative variation (CNV) were studied in psychiatric patients - schizophrenics, nonschizophrenic psychotics, schizotypics, and neurotics (according to DSM III) - and in a normal control group. The early CNV components and postimperative negativity were significantly different in schizophrenic and in nonschizophrenic psychotics, in contrast with their scores on some attentional performance tests. Only the central CNV was significantly correlated with severity of diagnosis, but multivariate analyses indicated the importance of frontal CNV and postimperative negativity in this respect. Topographical characteristics of the CNV also seem indicative of severity of psychiatric disturbance. These results are integrated in a composite index for further study. The general trend showed a moderately high degree of shared variance of central CNV components and performance measures, but not in regard to the other CNV measures, with variation found across diagnostic groups. No significant associations were found between CNV measures and affective and social functioning, and with Eysenck's personality dimensions.