Schizophrenia and cognitive dysmetria: a positron-emission tomography study of dysfunctional prefrontal-thalamic-cerebellar circuitry.
Patients suffering from schizophrenia display subtle cognitive abnormalities that may reflect a difficulty in rapidly coordinating the steps that occur in a variety of mental activities. Working interactively with the prefrontal cortex, the cerebellum may play a role in coordinating both motor and cognitive performance. This positron-emission tomography study suggests the presence of a prefrontal-thalamic-cerebellar network that is activated when normal subjects recall complex narrative material, but is dysfunctional in schizophrenic patients when they perform the same task. These results support a role for the cerebellum in cognitive functions and suggest that patients with schizophrenia may suffer from a "cognitive dysmetria" due to dysfunctional prefrontal-thalamic-cerebellar circuitry.
Andreasen
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NC
Mental Health Clinical Research Center, University of Iowa College of Medicine and Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City 52242, USA.
O'Leary
D S
DS
Cizadlo
T
T
Arndt
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S
Rezai
K
K
Ponto
L L
LL
Watkins
G L
GL
Hichwa
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RD
D000328:Adult; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D011859:Radiography; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D013788:Thalamus / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D014055:Tomography, Emission-Computed