Background: Basic science studies at the neuronal systems level have indicated that gamma-range (30-50 Hz) neural synchronization may be a key mechanism of information processing in neural networks, reflecting integration of various features of an object. Furthermore, gamma-range synchronization is thought to depend on the glutamatergically mediated interplay between excitatory projection neurons and inhibitory neurons utilizing ␥-aminobutyric acid (GABA), which postmortem studies suggest may be abnormal in schizophrenia. We therefore tested whether auditory neural networks in patients with schizophrenia could support gamma-range synchronization.

Schizophrenia has been conceptualized as a failure of cognitive integration, and abnormalities in neural circuitry (particularly inhibitory interneurons) have been proposed as a basis for this disorder. We used measures of phase locking and phase coherence in the scalp-recorded electroencephalogram to examine the synchronization of neural circuits in schizophrenia. Compared with matched control subjects, schizophrenia patients demonstrated: (1) absence of the posterior component of the early visual gamma band response to Gestalt stimuli; (2) abnormalities in the topography, latency, and frequency of the anterior component of this response; (3) delayed onset of phase coherence changes; and (4) the pattern of anterior-posterior coherence increases in response to Gestalt stimuli found in controls was replaced by a pattern of interhemispheric coherence decreases in patients. These findings support the hypothesis that schizophrenia is associated with impaired neural circuitry demonstrated as a failure of gamma band synchronization, especially in the 40 Hz range.

Current views of schizophrenia suggest that it results from abnormalities in neural circuitry, but empirical evidence in the millisecond range of neural activity has been difficult to obtain. In pursuit of relevant evidence, we previously demonstrated that schizophrenia is associated with abnormal patterns of stimulus-evoked phaselocking of the electroencephalogram in the ␥ band (30 -100 Hz). These patterns may reflect impairments in neural assemblies, which have been proposed to use ␥-band oscillations as a mechanism for synchronization. Here, we report the unique finding that, in both healthy controls and schizophrenia patients, visual Gestalt stimuli elicit a ␥-band oscillation that is phase-locked to reaction time and hence may reflect processes leading to conscious perception of the stimuli. However, the frequency of this oscillation is lower in schizophrenics than in healthy individuals. This finding suggests that, although synchronization must occur for perception of the Gestalt, it occurs at a lower frequency because of a reduced capability of neural networks to support high-frequency synchronization in the brain of schizophrenics. Furthermore, the degree of phase locking of this oscillation is correlated with visual hallucinations, thought disorder, and disorganization in the schizophrenia patients. These data provide support for linking dysfunctional neural circuitry and the core symptoms of schizophrenia.electroencephalogram ͉ ␥ band C ontemporary views of schizophrenia propose that the basis of this disorder lies in the dysfunction of neural microcircuits, rather than specific brain areas or neurotransmitter systems. These views are based on postmortem studies of the brains of schizophrenia patients (SZ), which have reported abnormalities at the cellular level, including inhibitory interneurons (1-3). Moreover, animal studies suggest that such disturbances may involve the hypofunctioning of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors on inhibitory interneurons because psychotomimetics selectively block this receptor (4, 5). Inhibitory interneurons appear to be crucial elements in the generation of synchronous neural activity in the ␤ (13-30 Hz) and ␥ (30-100 Hz) bands of the electroencephalogram (EEG) (6, 7). Evidence is accumulating that such synchronous oscillations may underlie cognitive functions such as object perception, selective attention, and working memory (8, 9), as well as consciousness (10). Thus, the analysis of high-frequency EEG oscillatory activity may provide functional evidence for neural circuitry abnormalities in schizophrenia.In earlier studies we have found that SZ exhibit deficits in ␥-band neural synchrony as measured by EEG phase locking during auditory steady-state stimulation (11) and during the perception of visual Gestalt patterns (12). In the latter study, SZ displayed several abnormalities in the early visual ␥-band oscillation in comparison with matched healthy control subjects. The most striking finding was that Gestalt stimuli failed to elicit the occipital component of the earl...

Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) studies in schizophrenia demonstrate lower anisotropic diffusion within white matter due either to loss of coherence of white matter fiber tracts, to changes in the number and/or density of interconnecting fiber tracts, or to changes in myelination, although methodology as well as localization of such changes differ between studies. The aim of this study is to localize and to specify further DTI abnormalities in schizophrenia by combining DTI with magnetization transfer imaging (MTI), a technique sensitive to myelin and axonal alterations in order to increase specificity of DTI findings. 21 chronic schizophrenics and 26 controls were scanned using Line-Scan-Diffusion-Imaging and T1-weighted techniques with and without a saturation pulse (MT). Diffusion information was used to normalize co-registered maps of fractional anisotropy (FA) and magnetization transfer ratio (MTR) to a study-specific template, using the multi-channel daemon algorithm, designed specifically to deal with multi-directional tensor information. Diffusion anisotropy was decreased in schizophrenia in the following brain regions: the fornix, the corpus callosum, bilaterally in the cingulum bundle, bilaterally in the superior occipito-frontal fasciculus, bilaterally in the internal capsule, in the right inferior occipito-frontal fasciculus and the left arcuate fasciculus. MTR maps demonstrated changes in the corpus callosum, fornix, right internal capsule, and the superior occipito-frontal fasciculus bilaterally; however, no changes were noted in the anterior cingulum bundle, the left internal capsule, the arcuate fasciculus, or inferior occipito-frontal fasciculus. In addition, the right posterior cingulum bundle showed MTR but not FA changes in schizophrenia. These findings suggest that, while some of the diffusion abnormalities in schizophrenia are likely due to abnormal coherence, or organization of the fiber tracts, some of these abnormalities may, in fact, be attributed to or coincide with myelin/axonal disruption.