Peter Uhlhaas
Department of Psychology
University of Glasgow
A considerable body of work over the last 10 years combining non-invasive electrophysiology (electroencephalography/magnetoencephalography) in patient populations with preclinical research has contributed to the conceptualization of schizophrenia as a disorder associated with aberrant neural dynamics and disturbances in excitation/inhibition (E/I) balance parameters. Specifically, I will propose that recent technological and analytic advances in MEG provide novel opportunities to address these fundamental questions as well as establish important links with translational research.
We have carried out several studies which have tested the importance of neural oscillations in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia through a combination of MEG-measurements in ScZ-patients and pharmacological manipulations in healthy volunteers which target the NMDA-receptor. These results highlight a pronounced impairment in high-frequency activity in both chronic and unmedicated patients which could provide novel insights into basic circuit mechanisms underlying cognitive and perceptual dysfunctions.
Our recent work has employed MEG to understand the developmental trajectory of neural oscillations during adolescence and the possibility to develop a biomarker for early detection and diagnosis of ScZ. We found marked changes in the amplitude of high-frequency oscillations and synchrony that were particularly pronounced during the transition from adolescence to adulthood. Moreover, data from participants meeting ultra-high risk criteria for psychosis suggest that signatures of aberrant neuronal dynamics are already present prior to the onset of psychosis, highlighting the importance of advancing biomarkers for early intervention and diagnosis.