Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Sex difference in association between cognitive and P50 deficits in patients with chronic schizophrenia

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Archives of Women's Mental Health Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

A large number of studies have reported that sensory gating disorders represented by P50 inhibition may be involved in the pathophysiological process of schizophrenia. However, few studies have explored the relationship between sensory gating disorders and cognitive dysfunction in patients with schizophrenia. This study aimed to explore sex differences in the relationship between cognitive and P50 deficits in patients with chronic schizophrenia, which has not been reported. A total of 183 chronic schizophrenia patients (128 males and 55 females) and 166 healthy controls (76 males and 90 females) participated in this study. The MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB) was measured for cognitive function and P50 components for the sensory gating in all participants. The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scales (PANSS) was used to assess the psychopathological symptoms in patients. Female patients performed significantly better than male patients in several cognitive domains of MCCB (all p < 0.01). There were no significant differences in P50 components between male and female patients (all p > 0.05). Further analysis showed that in female patients, latency of S2 was negatively correlated with reasoning and problem-solving domain of MCCB (p < 0.05), and P50 ratio was negatively correlated with social cognition domain of MCCB (p < 0.05). In male patients, there was no any correlation between P50 and cognitive domains of MCCB. Our results suggest that there is a sex difference in the association between P50 deficiency and cognitive impairment in Chinese Han patients with schizophrenia.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author.

References

  • Barch DM, Carter CS, Arnsten A, Buchanan RW, Cohen JD, Geyer M et al (2009) Selecting paradigms from cognitive neuroscience for translation into use in clinical trials: proceedings of the third CNTRICS meeting. Schizophr Bull 35:109–114

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Beauchet O (2006) Testosterone and cognitive function: current clinical evidence of a relationship. Eur J Endocrinol 155:773–781

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chang Q, Liu M, Tian Q, Wang H, Luo Y, Zhang J et al (2019) EEG-based brain functional connectivity in first-episode schizophrenia patients, ultra-high-risk individuals, and healthy controls during P50 suppression. Front Hum Neurosci 13:379

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Cui JF, Zou YZ, Li Y, Wang J, Chen N, Fan HZ et al (2009) Reliability and validity of brief assessment of cognition in schizophrenia. Chin Ment Health J 03

  • Dalecki A, Green AE, Johnstone SJ, Croft RJ (2016) The relevance of attention in schizophrenia P50 paired stimulus studies. Clin Neurophysiol 127:2448–2454

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Falkenburg J, Tracy DK (2014) Sex and schizophrenia: a review of gender differences. Psychosis 6:61–69

    Google Scholar 

  • Galderisi S, Mucci A, Dollfus S, Nordentoft M, Falkai P, Kaiser S et al (2021) EPA guidance on assessment of negative symptoms in schizophrenia. Eur Psychiatry 64:e23

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Galderisi S, Rucci P, Mucci A, Rossi A, Rocca P, Bertolino A et al (2020) The interplay among psychopathology, personal resources, context-related factors and real-life functioning in schizophrenia: stability in relationships after 4 years and differences in network structure between recovered and non-recovered patients. World Psychiatry 19:81–91

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Giordano GM, Perrottelli A, Mucci A, Di Lorenzo G, Altamura M, Bellomo A et al (2021) Investigating the relationships of P3b with negative symptoms and neurocognition in subjects with chronic schizophrenia. Brain Sci 11

  • Green MF, Nuechterlein KH, Gold JM, Barch DM, Cohen J, Essock S et al (2004) Approaching a consensus cognitive battery for clinical trials in schizophrenia: the NIMH-MATRICS conference to select cognitive domains and test criteria. Biol Psychiatry 56:301–307

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gurvich C, Gavrilidis E, Worsley R, Hadaib A, Thomas N, Kulkarni J (2018) Menstrual cycle irregularity and menopause status influence cognition in women with schizophrenia. Psychoneuroendocrinology 96:173–178

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hamling KR, Schoppik D (2018) Sensory gating: cellular substrates of surprise. Curr Biol 28:R871–R873

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hong X, Chan RC, Zhuang X, Jiang T, Wan X, Wang J et al (2009) Neuroleptic effects on P50 sensory gating in patients with first-episode never-medicated schizophrenia. Schizophr Res 108:151–157

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hoonakker M, Doignon-Camus N, Bonnefond A (2017) Sustaining attention to simple visual tasks: a central deficit in schizophrenia? A systematic review. Ann N Y Acad Sci 1408:32–45

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hsieh MH, Lin YT, Chien YL, Hwang TJ, Hwu HG, Liu CM et al (2019) Auditory event-related potentials in antipsychotic-free subjects with ultra-high-risk state and first-episode psychosis. Front Psychiatry 10:223

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Janowsky JS (2006) The role of androgens in cognition and brain aging in men. Neuroscience 138:1015–1020

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jasinska AJ, Zorick T, Brody AL, Stein EA (2014) Dual role of nicotine in addiction and cognition: a review of neuroimaging studies in humans. Neuropharmacology 84:111–122

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kanchanatawan B, Hemrungrojn S, Thika S, Sirivichayakul S, Ruxrungtham K, Carvalho AF et al (2018) Changes in tryptophan catabolite (TRYCAT) pathway patterning are associated with mild impairments in declarative memory in schizophrenia and deficits in semantic and episodic memory coupled with increased false-memory creation in deficit schizophrenia. Mol Neurobiol 55:5184–5201

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kay SR, Fiszbein A, Opler LA (1986) The positive and negative syndrome scale (PANSS) for schizophrenia. Schizophr Bull 13:261

    Google Scholar 

  • Kern RS, Nuechterlein KH, Green MF, Baade LE, Fenton WS, Gold JM et al (2008) The MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery, part 2: co-norming and standardization. Am J Psychiatry 165:214–220

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lei Y, Ozdemir RA, Perez MA (2018) Gating of sensory input at subcortical and cortical levels during grasping in humans. J Neurosci 38:7237–7247

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Mendrek A, Mancini-Marïe A (2016) Sex/gender differences in the brain and cognition in schizophrenia. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 67:57–78

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mu L, Liang J, Wang H, Chen D, Xiu M, Zhang XY (2020) Sex differences in association between clinical correlates and cognitive impairment in patients with chronic schizophrenia. J Psychiatr Res 131:194–202

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Neu P, Gooren T, Niebuhr U, Schlattmann P (2019) Cognitive impairment in schizophrenia and depression: a comparison of stability and course. Appl Neuropsychol Adult 26:215–228

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nuechterlein KH, Green MF, Kern RS, Baade LE, Barch DM, Cohen JD et al (2008) The MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery, part 1: test selection, reliability, and validity. Am J Psychiatry 165:203–213

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Paquin K, Wilson AL, Cellard C, Lecomte T, Potvin S (2014) A systematic review on improving cognition in schizophrenia: which is the more commonly used type of training, practice or strategy learning? BMC Psychiatry 14:139

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Patterson JV, Hetrick WP, Boutros NN, Jin Y, Sandman C, Stern H et al (2008) P50 sensory gating ratios in schizophrenics and controls: a review and data analysis. Psychiatry Res 158:226–247

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Quigley H, MacCabe JH (2019) The relationship between nicotine and psychosis. Ther Adv Psychopharmacol 9:2045125319859969

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Riecher-Rössler A, Häfner H (2010) Gender aspects in schizophrenia: bridging the border between social and biological psychiatry. Acta Psychiatr Scand Suppl 102:58–62

    Google Scholar 

  • Rubin LH, Carter CS, Drogos L, Jamadar R, Pournajafi-Nazarloo H, Sweeney JA et al (2011) Sex-specific associations between peripheral oxytocin and emotion perception in schizophrenia. Schizophr Res 130:266–270

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Rubin LH, Haas GL, Keshavan MS, Sweeney JA, Maki PM (2008) Sex difference in cognitive response to antipsychotic treatment in first episode schizophrenia. Neuropsychopharmacology 33:290–297

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sánchezmorla EM, Santos JL, Aparicio A, Garcíajiménez MÁ, Soria C, Arango C (2013) Neuropsychological correlates of P50 sensory gating in patients with schizophrenia. Schizophr Res 143:102–106

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schubring D, Popov T, Miller GA, Rockstroh B (2018) Consistency of abnormal sensory gating in first-admission and chronic schizophrenia across quantification methods. Psychophysiology 55.

  • Seeman MV (2012) Menstrual exacerbation of schizophrenia symptoms. Acta Psychiatr Scand 125:363–371

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Smelror RE, Johannessen C, Wedervang-Resell K, Jørgensen KN, Barth C, Andreou D et al (2021) Cognitive impairment profile in adolescent early-onset psychosis using the MATRICS Battery: age and sex effects. Neuropsychology 35:300–309

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Strassnig M, Bowie C, Pinkham AE, Penn D, Twamley EW, Patterson TL et al (2018) Which levels of cognitive impairments and negative symptoms are related to functional deficits in schizophrenia? J Psychiatr Res 104:124–129

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tan SP, Jie-Feng C, Fan FM, Zhao YL, Chen N, Fan HZ et al (2014) Smoking, MATRICS consensus cognitive battery and P50 sensory gating in a Han Chinese population. Drug Alcohol Depend 143:51–57

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Thwaites SJ, van den Buuse M, Gogos A (2014) Differential effects of estrogen and testosterone on auditory sensory gating in rats. Psychopharmacology 231:243–256

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Toyomaki A, Hashimoto N, Kako Y, Tomimatsu Y, Koyama T, Kusumi I (2015) Different P50 sensory gating measures reflect different cognitive dysfunctions in schizophrenia. Schizophr Res Cogn 2:166–169

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Vita A, Gaebel W, Mucci A, Sachs G, Erfurth A, Barlati S et al (2022) European Psychiatric Association guidance on assessment of cognitive impairment in schizophrenia. Eur Psychiatry 65:e58

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Wallwork RS, Fortgang R, Hashimoto R, Weinberger DR, Dickinson D (2012) Searching for a consensus five-factor model of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale for schizophrenia. Schizophr Res 137:246–250

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Wang DM, Xia LY, Zhou HX, Tian Y, Dai QL, Xiu MH et al (2023) Smoking affects the association between cognitive impairment and P50 inhibition defects in patients with chronic schizophrenia: a case-control study. Asian J Psychiatr 79:103391

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wu JQ, Chen DC, Tan YL, Xiu MH, De Yang F, Soares JC et al (2016) Cognitive impairments in first-episode drug-naive and chronic medicated schizophrenia: MATRICS consensus cognitive battery in a Chinese Han population. Psychiatry Res 238:196–202

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Xia L, Wang D, Wang J, Xu H, Huo L, Tian Y et al (2020a) Association of cognitive and P50 suppression deficits in chronic patients with schizophrenia. Clin Neurophysiol 131:725–733

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Xia L, Yuan L, Du XD, Wang D, Wang J, Xu H et al (2020b) P50 inhibition deficit in patients with chronic schizophrenia: relationship with cognitive impairment of MATRICS consensus cognitive battery. Schizophr Res 215:105–112

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Xia L, Liu L, Hong X, Wang D, Wei G, Wang J et al (2020c) One-day tropisetron treatment improves cognitive deficits and P50 inhibition deficits in schizophrenia. Neuropsychopharmacology 45(8):1362–1368

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Žakić MD, Milas G (2019) Working memory in patients with schizophrenia and bipolar affective disorder: quantitative or qualitative differences? Psychiatr Danub 31:54–61

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang B, Han M, Tan S, De Yang F, Tan Y, Jiang S et al (2017) Gender differences measured by the MATRICS consensus cognitive battery in chronic schizophrenia patients. Sci Rep 7:11821

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang XY, Chen DC, Tan YL, Tan SP, Wang ZR, Yang FD et al (2014) Gender difference in association of cognition with BDNF in chronic schizophrenia. Psychoneuroendocrinology 48:136–146

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang XY, Chen DC, Xiu MH, Yang FD, Haile CN, Kosten TA et al (2012) Gender differences in never-medicated first-episode schizophrenia and medicated chronic schizophrenia patients. J Clin Psychiatry 73:1025–1033

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao N, Wang XH, Kang CY, Zheng Y, Yang LY, Guan TF et al (2021) Sex differences in association between cognitive impairment and clinical correlates in Chinese patients with first-episode drug-naïve schizophrenia. Ann Gen Psychiatry 20:26

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Zhu XL, Tan SP, Wang ZR, Zhang JG, Li D, Fan FM et al (2017) P50 suppression deficits and psychopathology in Han Chinese patients with schizophrenia. Neurosci Lett 653:346–350

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

This study was funded by the CAS International Cooperation Research Program (153111KYSB20190004), the CAS Pioneer Hundred Talents Program and the CAS Key Lab of Mental Health. These sources had no further role in this study design, in the data collection and analysis, in the writing of the report and in the decision to submit the paper for publication.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 16 Lincui Road, Chaoyang District, 100101, Beijing, China

    Dongmei Wang, Luyao Xia & Xiang-Yang Zhang

  2. Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

    Dongmei Wang, Luyao Xia & Xiang-Yang Zhang

  3. Department of Psychology, Barnard College, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

    Zhiqi Zhang

  4. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA

    Mehmet A. Camkurt, Aaron Issac & Emily Wu

  5. Beijing HuiLongGuan Hospital, Peking University, Beijing, China

    Meihong Xiu & Dachun Chen

Authors
  1. Dongmei Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Luyao Xia
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Zhiqi Zhang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Mehmet A. Camkurt
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Aaron Issac
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Emily Wu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Meihong Xiu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Dachun Chen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Xiang-Yang Zhang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Xiang-Yang Zhang.

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval

The research protocol was approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB), Beijing Hui-Long-Guan hospital. Participants who were willing to participate in our study signed a written informed consent. The authors assert that all procedures contributing to this work comply with the ethical standards of the relevant national and institutional committees on human experimentation and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2008.

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Wang, D., Xia, L., Zhang, Z. et al. Sex difference in association between cognitive and P50 deficits in patients with chronic schizophrenia. Arch Womens Ment Health 26, 793–801 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-023-01367-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-023-01367-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation