title: "Cognitive dysmetria" as an integrative theory of schizophrenia: a dysfunction in cortical-subcortical-cerebellar circuitry?
abstract: Earlier efforts to localize the symptoms of schizophrenia in a single brain region have been replaced by models that postulate a disruption in parallel distributed or dynamic circuits. Based on empirical data derived from both magnetic resonance and positron emission tomography, we have developed a model that implicates connectivity among nodes located in prefrontal regions, the thalamic nuclei, and the cerebellum. A disruption in this circuitry produces "cognitive dysmetria," difficulty in prioritizing, processing, coordinating, and responding to information. This "poor mental coordination" is a fundamental cognitive deficit in schizophrenia and can account for its broad diversity of symptoms.
authors.affiliation: The University of Iowa College of Medicine, Iowa City 52242, USA.
authors.forename: N C
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Andreasen
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Paradiso
authors.forename: D S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: O'Leary
mesh_terms: D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008959:Models, Neurological; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology; D019954:Neurobehavioral Manifestations / Q000502:physiology*; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013788:Thalamus / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology