Early auditory impairments as a candidate marker of attenuated sensory symptoms of psychosis

Background and hypothesis: Deficits in early auditory processing (EAP), as indexed by tone-matching performance, have been consistently demonstrated in individuals with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. However, the ontogeny of tone-matching deficits in schizophrenia remains relatively unknown. The current study aims to determine the relationship between clinical high risk for psychosis and EAP. Study design: We employed a web-based screening approach to identify CHR individuals. A sample of 892 community dwelling participants completed the 16-tem version of the prodromal questionnaire (PQ16) for the assessment of attenuated psychotic symptoms, a 9-item questionnaire of perceptual and cognitive aberrations (PCA) for the assessment of basic symptoms and a tone-matching task. Study results: 505 (43.4 %) participants met cut-off criteria for attenuated psychotic symptoms (PQ16 > 6 endorsed items), 614 (68.3 %) for basic symptoms (PCA > 3 endorsed items), 647 (72.0 %) for either and 358 (40.1 %) for both of them. No significant differences in tone-matching performance were observed between CHR and non-CHR subjects, using either attenuated psychotic symptoms, basic symptoms, either or both cutoffs. In the CHR group screened with attenuated psychotic symptoms, auditory and tactile sensory symptoms were significantly associated with tone-matching deficits. Conclusion: Tone-matching may not serve as a reliable biomarker for CHR status but rather a risk marker for the emergence of early sensory manifestations.