Background
Studies of event-related potentials have consistently shown that schizophrenia is
associated with a blunted error-related negativity (ERN), indicating a deficit in
error monitoring. It is unknown whether this deficit is unique to schizophrenia or
is common to psychotic disorders more broadly, and its associations with clinical
characteristics of the illness are not well understood.
Methods
The ERN and the error positivity (Pe) were recorded from 33 individuals with schizophrenia,
45 individuals with other psychotic disorders, and 33 healthy control subjects. Patients
were drawn from a cohort with psychotic disorders followed since first hospitalization
and diagnosed by consensus based on 10 years of observation.
Results
The ERN was profoundly blunted in the patient group, regardless of diagnosis, indicating
that this deficit is not unique to schizophrenia. The Pe, meanwhile, was blunted only
among individuals with schizophrenia, indicating that the ERN and Pe are differentially
related to psychotic illnesses. A blunted ERN was associated with more severe negative
symptoms and poorer real-world functioning, as indicated by unemployment and re-hospitalization
over 10 years of illness. Although reduced compared with control subjects, ERN amplitude
was greater in patients with higher neuroticism, indicating that error processing
is moderated by personality differences in the same manner as in healthy populations.
Conclusions
The current study advances the literature by evaluating diagnostic specificity and
functional correlates of impaired error processing in psychosis.
Key Words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: February 16, 2012
Accepted:
January 11,
2012
Received in revised form:
December 12,
2011
Received:
May 6,
2011
Identification
Copyright
© 2012 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
