Smoking, MATRICS consensus cognitive battery and P50 sensory gating in a Han Chinese population

Abstract

Background: The effects of smoking on cognitive performance have long been studied, with mixed results. P50 sensory gating has been used as endophenotype for studying nicotinic systems genetics, and P50 gating deficits have been reported to be a sensitive biomarker for cognitive impairment in schizophrenia. This study examined the inter-relationship between P50 suppression, cognitive function, and smoking in a healthy Han Chinese population, which has not been reported before.

Methods: We recruited 82 healthy male subjects, including 48 smokers and 34 non-smokers who were matched for age and education. The authors measured P50 sensory gating and administered the Chinese-language version of the MATRICS consensus cognitive battery (MCCB) and Stroop tests.

Results: The results showed that the smokers scored lower than nonsmokers on the MCCB brief visuospatial memory test (BVMT) index and the STROOP test. Furthermore, the MCCB total score was negatively associated with number of cigarettes smoked per day in the smoker group. However, P50 sensory gating was not associated with either smoking status or any cognitive performance.

Conclusions: Our results show that smoking is associated with cognitive impairment, but not with P50 sensory gating.

Keywords: Cognition; MATRICS; Nicotine; P50 gating; Smoking.