Frontal and superior temporal auditory processing abnormalities in schizophrenia

José M Cañive,J Christopher Edgar,Yu-Han Chen,Juan Bustillo,Brett Y Lu,Breannan Howell,Michael A Hunter,Mingxiong Huang,Gregory A Miller,Emerson Epstein

doi:10.1016/j.nicl.2013.05.002

Abstract

BackgroundAlthough magnetoencephalography (MEG) studies show superior temporal gyrus (STG) auditory processing abnormalities in schizophrenia at 50 and 100 ms, EEG and corticography studies suggest involvement of additional brain areas (e.g., frontal areas) during this interval. Study goals were to identify 30 to 130 ms auditory encoding processes in schizophrenia (SZ) and healthy controls (HC) and group differences throughout the cortex.MethodsThe standard paired-click task was administered to 19 SZ and 21 HC subjects during MEG recording. Vector-based Spatial–temporal Analysis using L1-minimum-norm (VESTAL) provided 4D maps of activity from 30 to 130 ms. Within-group t-tests compared post-stimulus 50 ms and 100 ms activity to baseline. Between-group t-tests examined 50 and 100 ms group differences.ResultsBilateral 50 and 100 ms STG activity was observed in both groups. HC had stronger bilateral 50 and 100 ms STG activity than SZ. In addition to the STG group difference, non-STG activity was also observed in both groups. For example, whereas HC had stronger left and right inferior frontal gyrus activity than SZ, SZ had stronger right superior frontal gyrus and left supramarginal gyrus activity than HC.ConclusionsLess STG activity was observed in SZ than HC, indicating encoding problems in SZ. Yet auditory encoding abnormalities are not specific to STG, as group differences were observed in frontal and SMG areas. Thus, present findings indicate that individuals with SZ show abnormalities in multiple nodes of a concurrently activated auditory network.

Highlights

Introduction⁎ Corresponding author at: The University of New Mexico, Center for Psychiatric Research, 1101 Yale Blvd NE, 2nd Floor, Albuquerque, NM 87106, USA
The present study shows that superior temporal gyrus (STG) and non-STG areas are involved in early auditory encoding
Replicating findings from our prior study that used single dipole source localization to examine STG activity (Smith et al, 2010) and examining a new sample using a different MEG system and applying distributed source localization methods, reduced first click (S1) STG activity was observed in SZ, again supporting impaired encoding of auditory information

Summary

Introduction

⁎ Corresponding author at: The University of New Mexico, Center for Psychiatric Research, 1101 Yale Blvd NE, 2nd Floor, Albuquerque, NM 87106, USA. Using electroencephalography (EEG) and magnetoencephalography (MEG), a large number of studies show smaller 100 ms auditory amplitudes in individuals with schizophrenia (SZ) than healthy controls (HC). Magnetoencephalography (MEG) studies show superior temporal gyrus (STG) auditory processing abnormalities in schizophrenia at 50 and 100 ms, EEG and corticography studies suggest involvement of additional brain areas (e.g., frontal areas) during this interval. Study goals were to identify 30 to 130 ms auditory encoding processes in schizophrenia (SZ) and healthy controls (HC) and group differences throughout the cortex. Auditory encoding abnormalities are not specific to STG, as group differences were observed in frontal and SMG areas. Present findings indicate that individuals with SZ show abnormalities in multiple nodes of a concurrently activated auditory network

Methods

Results

Conclusion