An FMRI study of episodic encoding and recognition of words in patients with schizophrenia in remission.
OBJECTIVE
Verbal memory deficits are among the most severe cognitive deficits observed in patients with schizophrenia. This study examined patterns of brain activity during episodic encoding and recognition of words in patients with schizophrenia.


METHODS
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to study regional brain activation in 10 healthy male comparison subjects and 10 male outpatients with schizophrenia during performance of a modified version of the words subtest of Warrington's Recognition Memory Test.


RESULTS
Despite having intact performance in word recognition, the patients with schizophrenia had less activation of the right dorsolateral and anterior prefrontal cortex, right anterior cingulate, and left lateral temporal cortex during word encoding, compared with the healthy comparison subjects. During word recognition, the patients had impairments in activation of the bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal and lateral temporal cortices.


CONCLUSIONS
Schizophrenia was associated with attenuated frontotemporal activation during episodic encoding and recognition of words. These results from an fMRI study replicate earlier findings derived from a positron emission tomography study.
Department of Biological Psychiatry and Radiology, Innsbruck University Clinics, Anichstrasse 35, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria. a.hofer@uibk.ac.at
Alex
A
Hofer
Elisabeth M
EM
Weiss
Stefan M
SM
Golaszewski
Christian M
CM
Siedentopf
Claudia
C
Brinkhoff
Christian
C
Kremser
Stephan
S
Felber
W Wolfgang
WW
Fleischhacker
D000328:Adult; D000553:Ambulatory Care; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000502:physiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000502:physiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology*; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D021641:Recognition, Psychology / Q000502:physiology; D012153:Retention, Psychology / Q000502:physiology; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000502:physiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D014705:Verbal Behavior / Q000502:physiology*