Differences in central serotoninergic transmission among patients with recent onset, sub-chronic, and chronic schizophrenia as assessed by the loudness dependence of auditory evoked potentials

Previous research has shown that abnormalities in serotonin systems are associated with schizophrenia. The loudness dependence of auditory evoked potentials (LDAEP) has been used as a metric of central serotonin activity. The present study aimed to evaluate LDAEP in patients with schizophrenia of differing chronicity. Sixty-four patients with schizophrenia and 50 healthy controls were enrolled in this study. LDAEP and psychometric ratings, such as the positive and negative syndrome scale (PANSS), were measured. The cohort was stratified into three subgroups according to the duration of illness: recent onset (< 2 years, n = 21), sub-chronic (2-9 years, n = 28), and chronic (≥ 10 years, n = 15) groups. The LDAEP differed significantly among the three groups. A post-hoc analysis (Bonferroni) demonstrated that the LDAEP differed significantly between the recent onset and chronic groups (p = 0.029), and between the healthy control and chronic groups (p = 0.008). Age, sex, dosage of antipsychotics, and smoking did not significantly affect the group differences. In the correlation analysis, there was a significant correlation of LDAEP values with illness duration (r = − 0.259, p = 0.045). The present study verifies that the LDAEP is related to the duration of illness in patients with schizophrenia. This suggests that central serotonin neurotransmission is changeable, and it may depend on the chronicity of schizophrenia pathology.