title: Auditory verbal working memory load and thalamic activation in nonpsychotic relatives of persons with schizophrenia: an fMRI replication.
abstract: First-degree relatives of persons with schizophrenia are at genetic risk for the illness and show deficits on high-load information-processing tasks. In a prior study of auditory working memory (WM) using functional MRI (fMRI), the authors demonstrated that adult relatives had significantly increased activation in the dorsomedial (DM) thalamus, anterior cingulate, and prefrontal cortex (H. W. Thermenos et al., 2004). In this study, the authors extended this work using a parametric WM task designed for fMRI in an independent, unmedicated sample. Twelve nonpsychotic relatives of persons with schizophrenia and 13 healthy controls were administered multiple versions of an auditory continuous performance test during fMRI. Data were analyzed using Statistical Parametric Mapping software. Compared with controls, relatives showed significantly greater task-elicited activation in the DM thalamus. When fMRI signal change was modeled as a function of increasing WM load, there was a significant Group x Load interaction, with relatives showing significantly greater task-elicited activation in the right DM thalamus compared with controls. Greater DM thalamic activation in the relatives remained significant when WM performance, vocabulary score, and education were controlled. This replication suggests that altered thalamic activation is a feature of neurobiological risk for schizophrenia.
authors.affiliation: Division of Public Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School/Massachusetts Mental Health Center, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, MA 02215, USA. lseidman@bidmc.harvard.edu
authors.forename: Larry J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Seidman
authors.forename: Heidi W
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Thermenos
authors.forename: Jennifer K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Koch
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ward
authors.forename: Hans
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Breiter
authors.forename: Jill M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Goldstein
authors.forename: Julie M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Goodman
authors.forename: Stephen V
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Faraone
authors.forename: Ming T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Tsuang
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D000328:Adult; D001931:Brain Mapping; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000502:physiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D013788:Thalamus / Q000098:blood supply*; D014706:Verbal Learning / Q000502:physiology*