DEVIATE P200 AND P300 IN NONPATIENT COLLEGE-STUDENTS WITH HIGH SCORESON THE SCHIZOPHRENIA SCALE OF THE MINNESOTA MULTIPHASIC PERSONALITY-INVENTORY (MMPI)

Event-related potentials (ERPs) were examined in 16 college students w ho had high scores on the Schizophrenia Scale of the MMPI (HSS) but we re without a hereditary disposition for major psychiatric disorders. 3 2 sex- and age-matched college students were used as controls. Subject s whose T scores were higher than 70 were designated the HSS subjects. ERPs were recorded during an auditory oddball task. Although neither the P300 latencies nor the P200 latencies differed between the two sub ject groups, the amplitudes of P300 to rare stimuli and P200 to freque nt stimuli were lower in the HSS subjects than in the controls. These results suggest that deficits, both in the P300-related cognitive func tion to rare relevant stimuli, as well as matching and/or the comparis on process for irrelevant frequent stimuli, may be present in HSS subj ects: The HSS subjects, especially those with a combination of P300 an d P200 deficits, even though without a hereditary diathesis for schizo phrenia, may constitute one type of high-risk group,