Abnormalities of Neuronal Oscillations and Temporal Integration to Low and High Frequency Auditory Stimulation in Schizophrenia

Background: Electro- and magneto-encephalography (E/MEG) studies indicate among schizophrenia patients (SZ) abnormal, often reduced, entrained (steady-state; aSSR) and transient (N100/M100) neural responses to auditory stimuli. We complement this literature by focusing analyses on auditory cortices, assessing a wide range of stimulation frequencies with long driving periods, and evaluating relationships between aSSR and M100 reductions in SZ.

Method: Seventeen SZ and 17 healthy subjects (H) participated. Stimuli were 1500ms binaural broadband noise sequences modulated at 5, 20, 40, 80 or 160-Hz. MEG data were collected and co-registered with structural magnetic resonance images. aSSRs and M100s projected into brain space were analyzed as a function of hemisphere, stimulus density, and time.

Results: aSSR: At low (5-Hz) and high (80-Hz) modulation frequencies, SZ displayed weaker entrainment bilaterally. To 40-Hz stimuli, SZ showed weaker entrainment only in right auditory cortex. M100: While responses for H increased linearly with stimulus density, this effect was weaker or absent in SZ. Relationship: A principal components analysis of SZ deficits identified low (5-Hz entrainment and M100) and high (40–80-Hz entrainment) frequency components. Discriminant analysis indicated that the low frequency component uniquely differentiated SZ from H. The high frequency component correlated with negative symptoms among SZ.

Conclusions: SZ auditory cortices were unable to (i) generate healthy levels of theta- and high gamma-band (80Hz) entrainment (aSSR) and (ii) augment transient responses (M100s) to rapidly presented auditory information (an index of temporal integration). Only the latter was most apparent in left hemisphere, and may reflect a prominent neurophysiological deficit in schizophrenia.