Response inhibition and childhood trauma in schizophrenia

Abstract

Childhood trauma (CHT) is consistently linked to increased risk for schizophrenia, but the mechanisms by which this risk is conferred are unclear. Recent research indicates there may be multiple developmental pathways linking CHT to schizophrenia, including affective and cognitive routes. The current study seeks to clarify the potential role of response inhibition in the cognitive pathway between CHT and symptoms of schizophrenia. I used archival data of 34 South African individuals with first-episode schizophrenia and 33 non-psychiatric controls. These participants completed the Stop-Signal Anticipation Task (SSAT; Zandbelt & Vink, 2010) as a measure of behavioral and brain imaging indices of response inhibition. I used the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) as a measure of CHT, and the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) as a measure of schizophrenia symptoms. The present study did not replicate previous findings of increased CHT in people with schizophrenia, and it also did not replicate an association between severity of CHT and positive symptoms of schizophrenia. Results did yield significant group differences in behavioral and functional neuroimaging measures of proactive inhibition, and not reactive inhibition. Implications of these findings are discussed.