Neuropsychiatry and the neurosciences

The present review summarizes some of the latest developments in psychiatri c neuroscience, focusing on electroencephalographic and magnetoencephalogra phic studies on P50 suppression, mismatch negativity and various aspects of gamma -band activity. Whereas P50 suppression and mismatch negativity are believed to reflect Bating of sensory information and early attention proce sses, gamma -band activity is associated with a wide scope of cognitive fun ctions, ranging from stimulus processing to consciousness. Both the influen ce of neuroleptic medication in schizophrenia patients and the effects of p harmacological interventions in healthy individuals are addressed, with an emphasis on the function of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor. Although the established paradigms of P50 suppression and mismatch negativity have yiel ded new insights into some of the possible pathogenetic mechanisms that und erlie schizophrenic illness, such an impact has yet to be shown for investi gations of gamma -band activity. Curr Opin Psychiatry 14:213-218. (C) 2001 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.