Anhedonia and ambivalence in schizophrenic patients with fronto-cerebellar metabolic abnormalities: a fluoro-d-glucose positron emission tomography study.
OBJECTIVE
Prefrontal and cerebellar abnormalities have been associated with higher cognitive deficits in schizophrenia. The current study aimed to show whether or not schizophrenic patients with fronto-cerebellar functional abnormalities show more anhedonia or ambivalence.


METHODS
Regional cerebral metabolic activity was measured using fluoro-D-glucose positron emission tomography and was compared between 24 patients with chronic schizophrenia and 22 healthy normal volunteers. The existence of regional prefrontal hypofunction and regional cerebellar hyperfunction was investigated in each patient. Demographic and clinical variables including the emotional self-report scales were compared between the subgroups of the patients categorized according to the existence and the absence of the regional dysfunctions.


RESULTS
Comparisons between each patient and the total normal controls revealed that 14 of the total twenty-four patients had regional hypofrontal functions, whereas 11 patients had regional hypercerebellar functions. Patients with prefrontal hypofunction showed more severe anhedonia than those without prefrontal hypofunction, whereas patients with cerebellar hyperfunction compared to those without cerebellar hyperfunction had more severe ambivalence.


CONCLUSIONS
It seems that fronto-cerebellar abnormalities may be associated with cardinal emotional features of schizophrenia, such as anhedonia and ambivalence.
Park
Kyung-Min
KM
Department of Psychiatry and Institute of Behavioral Science in Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Kim
Jae-Jin
JJ
Seok
Jeong Ho
JH
Chun
Ji Won
JW
Park
Hae-Jeong
HJ
Lee
Jong Doo
JD