The influence of Schizotypy on EventRelated Oscillations in Sensory Gating during early Infant Development

Maternal personality is known to influence childhood risk factors for mental health. More specifically, maternal psychopathologies, such as those on the schizophrenia-spectrum have been associated with P50 sensory gating abilities. Schizotypy is a personality dimension within the general population elevated among schizophrenia-spectrum patients and their first-degree relatives. Sensory gating is the pre-attentional habituation of responses distinguishing between important and irrelevant information. Neurooscillatory deficits have been observed in this ability in individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia. The current study investigated whether mothers with schizotypy (n=33) and their 6-month-old infants (n=38) display reduced evoked-oscillatory activity. The mothers completed the Oxford-Liverpool Inventory of Feelings and Experiences – Short Form as an index of schizotypy dimensionality, which was used to categorise the participants into infants of control mothers and mothers with schizotypy. The paired-tone paradigm: two identical auditory tones (Stimulus 1 and Stimulus 2) played 500ms apart, were used to probe evoked oscillatory activity. Data revealed that although the infants’ evoked-oscillations displayed differences between Stimulus 1 and Stimulus 2, there were no group differences between infants of mothers with schizotypy and of control mothers. Their mothers, however, displayed differences, with reduced power toward Stimulus 1 observed in the mothers with schizotypy between 13-30Hz. These findings are consistent that early sensory processes, such as sensory gating are impaired in schizophrenia-spectrum disorders.