title: Emotional auditory paradigm in neuroimaging: a base for the study of psychosis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Since the arrival of neuroimaging numerous studies have tried to analyze the differences between emotional and non-emotional response. The majority of these studies use visual approach (faces) and begin with data in normal subjects. The present study introduces a new paradigm for the study of emotional response based on auditory approach and designed specifically for the study of psychoses.
  
  
  METHODS
  The most frequent words heard by psychotic patients with auditory hallucinations were analyzed. They were classified according to five categories which were compared with 13 other words with the same structure but with a neutral emotional valency. This paradigm was applied to see the cerebral activation with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in 10 right handed healthy males.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the preliminary analysis a clear differentiation is observed depending on the type of stimulus applied (emotional or non-emotional), both in the intensity of activation (right and left temporal cortex) as in the activation of specific areas (right precentral and supramarginal gyrus) only with the emotional stimulus.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The present paradigm allows the observation of a differentiation in the cerebral activation to emotional auditory stimulus and could be of utility in the study of psychotic patients.
authors.affiliation: Medicine Department, Psychiatry Unit, Universidad de Valencia, Spain. julio.sanjuan@uv.es
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sanjuán
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Lull
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Martí-Bonmati
authors.forename: E J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Aguilar
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gadea
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Moratal-Pérez
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: González
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Robles
mesh_terms: D000339:Affect; D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D006212:Hallucinations / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D014825:Vocabulary