title: Schizophrenia and cognitive dysmetria: a positron-emission tomography study of dysfunctional prefrontal-thalamic-cerebellar circuitry.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Mental Health Clinical Research Center, University of Iowa College of Medicine and Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City 52242, USA.
authors.forename: N C
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Andreasen
authors.forename: D S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: O'Leary
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Cizadlo
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Arndt
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Rezai
authors.forename: L L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Ponto
authors.forename: G L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Watkins
authors.forename: R D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Hichwa
mesh_terms: 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