The effects of reality distortion syndrome on salient stimuli processing in patients with schizophrenia: an fMRI study.
Schizophrenia is associated with interpersonal difficulties related to impairments in the processing of facial emotional expressions. The aim of the present study was to identify brain regions associated with reality distortion syndrome reduction in a group of patients with schizophrenia during processing of emotionally salient stimuli. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to measure cerebral blood oxygenation changes during an implicit emotional task in 11 patients with schizophrenia, who were scanned twice with an interval of 6-8 weeks. We found that reality distortion syndrome reduction was associated with increases in the activation of the affective division of the anterior cingulate and lateral prefrontal cortices. Our findings may indicate that changes in the activation of these regions during processing of emotionally salient stimuli may represent neural markers of patients' symptomatic improvement.
Michalopoulou
Panayiota G
PG
Section on Schizophrenia, Imaging and Therapeutics, Department of Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, SE5 8AF, UK. panayiota.michalopoulou@kcl.ac.uk
Giampietro
Vincent P
VP
Morley
Lucy A
LA
Azim
Adnan
A
Kapur
Shitij
S
Lykouras
Lefteris
L
Shergill
Sukhwinder S
SS
D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000473:pathology; D001931:Brain Mapping; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D005149:Facial Expression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood; D010469:Perceptual Distortion / Q000502:physiology*; D010775:Photic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D055815:Young Adult
D010100:Oxygen