In search of neurobiological intermediate phenotypes of aberrant information processing in psychosis

In the case of a psychosis the information processing is deregulated. This dissertation studies how disturbed information processing is related to psychotic symptoms, genetic influences and brain processes. It turns out that delayed information processing is related to so-called negative symptoms and that genetic influences underlie this. In people with an increased genetic risk of psychosis (relatives of patients) there are indications at the brain level that the auditory information processing is delayed. A bad memory turns out to be a risk factor for depressive symptoms. It was also shown that genetic variation in the COMT gene is involved in mild psychotic reactions to ordinary stress. Moreover, the research provides indications for deregulated processing of inner speech in the brains of schizophrenia patients.