Effects of risperidone on auditory event-related potentials in schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is associated with cognitive deficits for which treatments remain elusive. The effects of risperidone (an antipsychotic differing in some of its pharmacological properties from typical agents) on cognitive deficits have not been extensively investigated. Mismatch negativity (MMN), N2 and P3 are cognitive event-related potentials that index preattentive (MMN) and attention-dependent information processing (NZ, P3) and provide a measure of cognitive deficits in schizophrenia. The effects of risperidone treatment on MMN, N2 and P3 generation in chronic schizophrenic patients were investigated in an open-label uncontrolled study. Risperidone treatment significantly reduced psychotic symptoms. It was associated with a decrease of peak latencies, particularly pronounced for P3. However, it did not significantly affect abnormal MMN or P3 amplitudes. The results suggest an effect of risperidone on processing speed, particularly in attention-dependent tasks. These results are in agreement with findings in recent studies on the cognitive effects of risperidone.