Varied effects of atypical neuroleptics on P50 auditory gating in schizophrenia patients.

Objective: Sensory gating deficits found in schizophrenia can be assessed by using a paired auditory stimulus paradigm to measure auditory evoked response. The ratio of the P50 response amplitude of the second or test stimulus to that of the first or conditioning stimulus is expressed as a percentage. Normal subjects generally suppress the second response and typically have ratios of less than 40%.