Working memory control in patients with schizophrenia: a PET study during a random number generation task.
OBJECTIVE
The authors' goal was to investigate brain regions involved in the deficiency of working memory control processes in patients with schizophrenia.


METHODS
Regional cerebral blood flow was measured with positron emission tomography in eight men with stabilized schizophrenia and eight healthy men while they were performing a graded random number generation task. Twelve scans were made for each subject. Covariations between randomness of responses and regional activation were analyzed.


RESULTS
The pattern of covariation between randomness of responses and activation in the anterior cingulate and superior parietal regions differed between patients and healthy subjects.


CONCLUSIONS
These results suggest a cinguloparietal dysfunction underlying the impairment of working memory control processes during a random number generation task in patients with schizophrenia.
Artiges
E
E
Département de Recherche en Imagerie, Pharmacologie et Physiologie, Strasbourg, France.
Salamé
P
P
Recasens
C
C
Poline
J B
JB
Attar-Levy
D
D
De La Raillère
A
A
Paillère-Martinot
M L
ML
Danion
J M
JM
Martinot
J L
JL
D000328:Adult; D000553:Ambulatory Care; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology; D006179:Gyrus Cinguli / Q000098:blood supply / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology*; D009010:Monte Carlo Method; D010296:Parietal Lobe / Q000098:blood supply / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000502:physiology*; D012039:Regional Blood Flow; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D014055:Tomography, Emission-Computed