The relationship between visual memory and the P300 in families with schizophrenia

Background Patients with schizophrenia and their unaffected relatives exhibit significant P300 amplitude and latency abnormalities in conjunction with neurocognitive deficits. Both the deficits in the P300 and neurocognition suggest that these indexes may be potential endophenotypes of the disorder. Few studies have examined the relationship between the P300 and neuropsychological measurements of sustained attention, visual memory and current intellectual ability in schizophrenia and these studies provide inconsistent results. The aim of the present study is (a) to examine which cognitive impairments the P300 reflects in schizophrenia and (b) to investigate the relationship between neurocognition and the P300 in families with schizophrenia in order to examine if these may be potential endophenotypes of the disorder.