Comparable 40 Hz auditory steady-state responses in children at familial high risk for schizophrenia or bipolar disorder and population-based controls

Background: The 40 Hz auditory steady state response (ASSR) is reduced in patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Recent evidence suggests that ASSR may be altered in clinical high risk and familial high risk populations. Here, we hypothesize that children aged 11-12 years with familial high risk for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder exhibit impairments in 40 Hz ASSR compared to population-based controls (PBC). Methods: The cross-sectional study included 196 participants aged 11 to 12 years: 76 at familial high risk for schizophrenia (FHR SZ), 50 at familial high risk for bipolar disorder (FHR BP) and 70 PBC. ASSR power and inter trial phase coherence (ITPC) were measured with 128 channel electroencephalography during regular and irregular 40-Hz auditory stimulation. Group differences in power and ITPC of the ASSR were assessed with independent linear mixed models for both the early and late ASSR component. Statistical analyses are reported with both frequentist p-values and Bayes factors. Results: Both PBC and participants with FHR demonstrated stable ASSRs during regular 40 Hz click stimulation, but not during irregular. Bayes analyses showed moderate and anecdotal evidence against a difference in ASSR power or ITPC among the three groups in the early latency and the late latency component of the ASSR. Results remained unchanged after controlling for the presence of an Axis I disorder. Conclusions: While reductions of 40 Hz ASSR are well documented across psychiatric disorders and stages, our results show that these deficits are not evident in 11 to 12 year old children at familial high risk for these disorders.

Authors

• Kit Melissa Larsen
• Júlia Díaz-i-Calvete
• Anna Hester Ver Loren van Themaat
• Anne Amalie Elgaard Thorup
• Kerstin Jessica Plessen
• Merete Nordentoft
• Hartwig Roman Siebner

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