Sex differences in memory processing in schizophrenia: an event-related potential (ERP) study.

Recently, research has begun to examine sex differences in cognitive functions in schizophrenia and whether such sex differences reflect normal, exaggerated, or reversed sexual dimorphism. This study examined this question by using event-related potentials (ERPs). ERPs were recorded in a recognition memory task in 18 patients and 18 matched control subjects. On an early frontal component, the results show an interaction between sex and pathological condition that results in an apparent reversed sexual dimorphism. On mid-latency components, patients show no sex difference on a frontal component, but a difference on the posterior component, whereas healthy subjects show a reverse pattern. Finally, late components show sex difference in the same direction as healthy subjects. These results indicate that the influence of sex on the cognitive impairment in schizophrenia is not homogenous across the information-processing cascade.