Impaired non-verbal auditory memory maintenance in schizophrenia: An ERP study

Individuals with schizophrenia (SZ) exhibit deficits in speech perception in noise, which are closely related to their abnormalities in auditory working memory (WM). Auditory WM, especially the non-verbal auditory WM, serves as a bridge between perception, action, and long-term memory, playing a cru...

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Main Authors: Lei Liu, Wenyang Han, Juntao Yu, Lingna Lou, Dewen Zhou, Liang Li, Peng Xu, Feng Zou
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-09-01
Series:Schizophrenia Research: Cognition
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2215001325000204
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author Lei Liu
Wenyang Han
Juntao Yu
Lingna Lou
Dewen Zhou
Liang Li
Peng Xu
Feng Zou
author_facet Lei Liu
Wenyang Han
Juntao Yu
Lingna Lou
Dewen Zhou
Liang Li
Peng Xu
Feng Zou
author_sort Lei Liu
collection DOAJ
description Individuals with schizophrenia (SZ) exhibit deficits in speech perception in noise, which are closely related to their abnormalities in auditory working memory (WM). Auditory WM, especially the non-verbal auditory WM, serves as a bridge between perception, action, and long-term memory, playing a crucial role in integrating sound sequences to facilitate auditory object perception and auditory scene analysis (ASA). Although considerable research has been conducted on auditory sensory memory and visual WM in schizophrenia, studies specifically addressing non-verbal auditory WM remain scarce. Therefore, this study recorded the behavioral performance and event related potentials of 36 SZ and 36 healthy controls (HC) during a modified non-musical tone-sequence delayed matching-to-sample task (DMTS). The results showed that, in the tone-sequence DMTS, SZ had not only lower accuracy but also slower reaction times compared to the HC. More importantly, during the retention period, the memory maintenance of SZ begins to decay rapidly from the mid-stage, manifested by a significantly reduction in the late sustained anterior negativity (SAN2). Meanwhile, the early sustained anterior negativity (SAN1) in patients showed a significant correlation with their general pathological symptoms. The pathological symptoms can be predicted by the SAN1 under load 4 condition. This study provides empirical evidence for the impairment of non-verbal auditory WM maintenance in schizophrenia, which is of significant importance for understanding the auditory dysfunction and ASA difficulties experienced by SZ.
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spelling doaj-art-d405bc6707a14e3fa8635d7fde0101bf2025-08-20T02:31:43ZengElsevierSchizophrenia Research: Cognition2215-00132025-09-014110036210.1016/j.scog.2025.100362Impaired non-verbal auditory memory maintenance in schizophrenia: An ERP studyLei Liu0Wenyang Han1Juntao Yu2Lingna Lou3Dewen Zhou4Liang Li5Peng Xu6Feng Zou7School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing 100871, ChinaDepartment of Psychiatry, The 967th Hospital of PLA Joint Logistics Support Force, Dalian, ChinaDepartment of Psychiatry, The 967th Hospital of PLA Joint Logistics Support Force, Dalian, ChinaFaculty of Philosophy, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Sachsen-Anhalt, GermanyInstitute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, ChinaSchool of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing 100871, ChinaDepartment of Psychiatry, The 967th Hospital of PLA Joint Logistics Support Force, Dalian, China; Corresponding authors at: Department of Psychiatry, The 967th Hospital of PLA Joint Logistics Support Force, Dalian 116000, China.Department of Psychiatry, The 967th Hospital of PLA Joint Logistics Support Force, Dalian, China; Corresponding authors at: Department of Psychiatry, The 967th Hospital of PLA Joint Logistics Support Force, Dalian 116000, China.Individuals with schizophrenia (SZ) exhibit deficits in speech perception in noise, which are closely related to their abnormalities in auditory working memory (WM). Auditory WM, especially the non-verbal auditory WM, serves as a bridge between perception, action, and long-term memory, playing a crucial role in integrating sound sequences to facilitate auditory object perception and auditory scene analysis (ASA). Although considerable research has been conducted on auditory sensory memory and visual WM in schizophrenia, studies specifically addressing non-verbal auditory WM remain scarce. Therefore, this study recorded the behavioral performance and event related potentials of 36 SZ and 36 healthy controls (HC) during a modified non-musical tone-sequence delayed matching-to-sample task (DMTS). The results showed that, in the tone-sequence DMTS, SZ had not only lower accuracy but also slower reaction times compared to the HC. More importantly, during the retention period, the memory maintenance of SZ begins to decay rapidly from the mid-stage, manifested by a significantly reduction in the late sustained anterior negativity (SAN2). Meanwhile, the early sustained anterior negativity (SAN1) in patients showed a significant correlation with their general pathological symptoms. The pathological symptoms can be predicted by the SAN1 under load 4 condition. This study provides empirical evidence for the impairment of non-verbal auditory WM maintenance in schizophrenia, which is of significant importance for understanding the auditory dysfunction and ASA difficulties experienced by SZ.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2215001325000204SchizophreniaAuditory working memoryNon-verbal auditory WMERPSustained anterior negativity
spellingShingle Lei Liu
Wenyang Han
Juntao Yu
Lingna Lou
Dewen Zhou
Liang Li
Peng Xu
Feng Zou
Impaired non-verbal auditory memory maintenance in schizophrenia: An ERP study
Schizophrenia Research: Cognition
Schizophrenia
Auditory working memory
Non-verbal auditory WM
ERP
Sustained anterior negativity
title Impaired non-verbal auditory memory maintenance in schizophrenia: An ERP study
title_full Impaired non-verbal auditory memory maintenance in schizophrenia: An ERP study
title_fullStr Impaired non-verbal auditory memory maintenance in schizophrenia: An ERP study
title_full_unstemmed Impaired non-verbal auditory memory maintenance in schizophrenia: An ERP study
title_short Impaired non-verbal auditory memory maintenance in schizophrenia: An ERP study
title_sort impaired non verbal auditory memory maintenance in schizophrenia an erp study
topic Schizophrenia
Auditory working memory
Non-verbal auditory WM
ERP
Sustained anterior negativity
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2215001325000204
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