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EEG differences in monozygotic twins discordant and concordant for schizophrenia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 1999

HANS H. STASSEN ,
RICHARD COPPOLA ,
IRVING I. GOTTESMAN ,
E. FULLER TORREY ,
STEPHAN KUNY ,
KENNETH C. RICKLER  and
DANIEL HELL
HANS H. STASSEN
Affiliation:
Research Department, Psychiatric University Hospital, Zurich, Switzerland
RICHARD COPPOLA
Affiliation:
NIMH Neuropsychiatric Research Hospital, Washington, DC, USA
IRVING I. GOTTESMAN
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, USA
E. FULLER TORREY
Affiliation:
NIMH Neuropsychiatric Research Hospital, Washington, DC, USA
STEPHAN KUNY
Affiliation:
Research Department, Psychiatric University Hospital, Zurich, Switzerland
KENNETH C. RICKLER
Affiliation:
NIMH Neuropsychiatric Research Hospital, Washington, DC, USA
DANIEL HELL
Affiliation:
Research Department, Psychiatric University Hospital, Zurich, Switzerland
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Abstract

In an electroencephalographic (EEG) study of 27 pairs of monozygotic (MZ) twins discordant for schizophrenia, 13 pairs of MZ twins concordant for schizophrenia, 40 pairs of healthy MZ twins, and 91 healthy, unrelated subjects with repeated assessments, we investigated (a) the trait quality of brainwave patterns with respect to interindividual differences, intraindividual stability over time, and within-pair MZ concordance; (b) the EEG characteristics that enable discrimination between affected and unaffected individuals; and (c) the EEG characteristics that reflect the severity of illness. In comparison with healthy control subjects, the MZ twins who were discordant and concordant for schizophrenia exhibited a much lower within-pair EEG concordance, so that EEG abnormalities associated with schizophrenia and manifested differently in the co-twins concordant for schizophrenia seemed to reflect nongenetic, pathological developments of genetically identical brains.

Keywords

EEGSchizophreniaConcordanceDiscrimination
Type
Research Article
Information
Psychophysiology , Volume 36 , Issue 1 , January 1999 , pp. 109 - 117
Copyright
1999 Society for Psychophysiological Research

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