Abstract:
N-methyl D-aspartate type glutamate receptor antagonists induce schizophreniform disorder symptoms accompanied with deficits in sensory-perception and cognition and with a persistent amplification of electroencephalographic baseline gamma frequency (30-80 Hz) oscillations in cortical and subcortical regions, including the thalamus. This generalized network gamma noise might be the source of abnormal activities (e.g, during hallucinations) and disturb function-related synchronized oscillations. The corresponding gamma signal-to-noise ratio is proposed as a potential electrophysiological biomarker of network dysfunctions responsible for disturbances in sensorimotor and cognitive information processing associated with mental disorders. Testing theoretical and pathophysiological hypotheses is an appealing and promising basic-clinical translational way to understand how, in health and disease, our brain at work combines its various and miscellaneous molecular, synaptic, cellular and architectural complexities.