UCLA

Schizophrenia is a biologically complex disorder usually characterized by a decline in cognition and functioning. Current medications do not improve cognition and functioning, thus there is an effort to create a more targeted, objective approach for understanding the relationship between neurobiological and psychological changes in order to facilitate treatment development. I reviewed these methods, termed “quantitative traits”, and discussed their usefulness in neurobiological and genetic research. I then tested whether some measurements of brain activity, measured using electroencephalography, in response to auditory and visual stimuli were associated with performance on cognitive tests and general functioning in typically developing individuals and in adolescents with schizophrenia. I found that improved processing of auditory stimuli predicted improvements in auditory memory and functioning in healthy individuals. I also found that adolescents with schizophrenia showed impairments in processing auditory and visual stimuli relative to typically developing individuals, and these impairments were related to symptom severity. This research will help us to understand how quantitative measures of brain activity are related to cognition and functioning in schizophrenia, which may lead to a clearer understanding of the biological mechanisms involved in each, and eventual improvements in treatment and outcomes.