Auditory gating deficit to human voices in schizophrenia: A MEG study

Hirano, Yoji; Hirano, Shogo; Maekawa, Toshihiko; Obayashi, Choji; Oribe, Naoya; Monji, Akira; Kasai, Kiyoto; Kanba, Shigenobu; Onitsuka, Toshiaki

doi:10.1016/j.schres.2009.09.003

« Previous Next »Schizophrenia Research
Volume 117, Issue 1 , Pages 61-67, March 2010

Auditory gating deficit to human voices in schizophrenia: A MEG study

Yoji Hirano
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
Shogo Hirano
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
Toshihiko Maekawa
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
Choji Obayashi
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
Naoya Oribe
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
Akira Monji
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
Kiyoto Kasai
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
Shigenobu Kanba
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
Toshiaki Onitsuka
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
- Corresponding author. Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, 3-1-1, Maidashi, Higashiku, Fukuoka, 812-8582, Japan. Tel.: +81 92 642 5627; fax: +81 92 642 5644.

Received 26 January 2009; received in revised form 21 July 2009; accepted 1 September 2009. published online 24 September 2009.

Abstract

Background

Patients with schizophrenia have auditory gating deficits; however, little is known about P50 auditory gating to human voices and its association with clinical symptoms. We examined the functioning of auditory gating and its relationship with the clinical symptoms in schizophrenia.

Methods

Auditory evoked magnetoencephalography responses to the first and the second voices stimuli were recorded in 22 schizophrenia patients and 28 normal control subjects. The auditory gating ratios of P50m and N100m were investigated and P50m-symptom correlations were also investigated.

Results

Patients showed significantly higher P50m gating ratios to human voices specifically in the left hemisphere. Moreover, patients with higher left P50m gating ratios showed more severe auditory hallucinations, while patients with higher right P50m gating ratios showed more severe negative symptoms.

Conclusions

The present study suggests that schizophrenia patients have auditory gating deficits to human voices, specifically in the left hemisphere and auditory hallucinations of schizophrenia may be associated with sensory overload to human voices in the auditory cortex.

Keywords: Schizophrenia, Auditory sensory gating, Human voices, Magnetoencephalography, Auditory hallucination, Negative symptom