Study of P50 sensory gating deficit in schizophrenic patients with violent and aggressive behaviors

Abstract

ObjectiveTo assess the specificity of P50 auditory-evoked potential in schizophrenic patients with violent and aggressive behaviors， so as to provide objective biological markers for predicting violent behaviors of schizophrenic patients.MethodsA total of135 schizophrenic patients who met the diagnostic criteria of the International Classification of Diseases， tenth edition （ICD-10） were divided into aggressive group （n=70） and non-aggressive group （n=65） according to the assessment results of the Modified Overt Aggression Scale （MOAS）， meantime， another 60 healthy individuals matched for age and gender were set as healthy group. Then the P50 auditory-evoked potentials of all selected individuals were measured using EP/EMG system （MEB-9200， Nihon Kohden， Japan）.ResultsAmp S2 of the aggressive group was significantly higher than those of the non-aggressive group and healthy control group， with statistical differences ［（9.86±6.04）μV vs. （7.06±3.88）μV， P=0.004； （9.86±6.04）μV vs. （7.82±3.87）μV， P=0.031］. The proportion of S2/S1 ratio ≥0.5 was 72.88%， 43.86% and 30.00% in aggressive group， non-aggressive group and healthy group， which was the highest in aggressive group， with statistical differences （P<0.01）. The amplitude difference of P50 （S1-S2） of the aggressive group was lower than those of the non-aggressive group and the healthy control group， the differences were of statistical significance ［（4.35±9.39）μV vs.（9.89±8.48）μV， P=0.001； （4.35±9.39）μV vs.（13.42±9.81）μV， P<0.01］.ConclusionThe violent and aggressive behaviors in schizophrenic patients may be related to the sensory gating deficit.

Keywords

• schizophrenia
• violent or aggressive behaviors
• sensory gating
• p50 auditory-evoked potential