Intra- and interhemispheric electroencephalogram coherence in siblings discordant for schizophrenia and healthy volunteers.

Former studies had pointed to an increased electroencephalogram (EEG) coherence in schizophrenics, but it remained unsolved whether this deviation represents the premorbid state or is only a consequence of the current or previous schizophrenic episodes. To clarify this question, we tested the hypothesis that subjects at elevated risk also reveal higher coherences compared to healthy controls. For that, intra- and interhemispheric EEG coherences were investigated in untreated schizophrenics, their healthy siblings, and healthy controls. Differences were only found regarding the intrahemispheric coherences. Both in schizophrenics and, even though to a lesser degree, in their siblings significantly higher coherence estimates were found compared to the control group. The results are in accordance with the assumption that schizophrenia is predominantly a neurodevelopmental disease. Increased coherence might be assumed to be a vulnerability marker for schizophrenia reflecting maldevelopment of the brain before onset of the disorder.