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Abnormal Asymmetry of the Face N170 Repetition Effect in Male Patients with Chronic Schizophrenia

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Abstract

The N170 face repetition effect has been proposed to reflect early identity processing that underlies the acquisition of familiarity for novel faces. It was reported that the N170 face repetition effect was lateralized to the right hemisphere. Since it has been postulated that reduced or reversed brain asymmetry may be importantly related to schizophrenia pathology, the present study examined whether or not male patients with chronic schizophrenia show reduced or reversed asymmetry in the N170 face repetition effect. Seventeen male schizophrenia patients and 13 male healthy controls participated. Event-related potentials were recorded to unrepeated and repeated faces. Patients with schizophrenia showed a bilateral N170 reduction to repeated and unrepeated faces compared to healthy subjects (F[1,28] = 8.01, p = 0.009). Schizophrenia patients showed a significant decrease in N170 amplitude to repeated faces at the left occipitotemporal electrode (t[16] = 2.91, p = 0.01), whereas healthy subjects showed a significant decrease at the right occipitotemporal electrode (t[12] = 2.36, p = 0.04). These results suggest abnormal asymmetry of the N170 face repetition effect in schizophrenia.

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the administrative support of Marie Fairbanks and the assistance of Yoji Hirano, M.D., Ph.D., Rakibul Mannan, Ph.D., Meredith C. Klump, B.A., and Sarah M. Rabbitt, B.A.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Clinical Neuroscience Division, Laboratory of Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry, Boston VA Healthcare System, Brockton Division and Harvard Medical School, Brockton, MA, USA

    Toshiaki Onitsuka, Kevin M. Spencer, Lisa C. Lucia, Martha E. Shenton, Robert W. McCarley & Margaret A. Niznikiewicz

  2. Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan

    Toshiaki Onitsuka

  3. Surgical Planning Laboratory, MRI Division, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Martha E. Shenton

  4. Department of Psychiatry (116A), Boston VA Healthcare System, Brockton Division, Harvard Medical School, 940 Belmont St., Brockton, MA, 02301, USA

    Margaret A. Niznikiewicz

Authors
  1. Toshiaki Onitsuka
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  2. Kevin M. Spencer
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  3. Lisa C. Lucia
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  4. Martha E. Shenton
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  5. Robert W. McCarley
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  6. Margaret A. Niznikiewicz
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Correspondence to Margaret A. Niznikiewicz.

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Onitsuka, T., Spencer, K.M., Lucia, L.C. et al. Abnormal Asymmetry of the Face N170 Repetition Effect in Male Patients with Chronic Schizophrenia. Brain Imaging and Behavior 3, 240–245 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11682-009-9066-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11682-009-9066-3

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