Midbrain activation during Pavlovian conditioning and delusional symptoms in schizophrenia.
BACKGROUND
Recent theories have suggested that the inappropriate activation of limbic motivational systems in response to neutral stimuli may underlie the development of delusions in schizophrenia.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the activation of the amygdala, midbrain, and ventral striatum during an aversive pavlovian conditioning task in patients with schizophrenia and healthy control participants using functional magnetic resonance imaging.


METHODS
Cross-sectional case-control functional neuroimaging study.


METHODS
Academic medical center.


METHODS
Twenty patients with DSM-IV-diagnosed schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder and 20 healthy control participants.


METHODS
Regional brain activation as assessed by functional magnetic resonance imaging blood oxygen level-dependent responses, and delusional symptom severity on the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale.


RESULTS
Patients with schizophrenia showed abnormal activation of the amygdala, midbrain, and ventral striatum during conditioning. Activation of the midbrain in response to neutral rather than aversive cues during conditioning was correlated with the severity of delusional symptoms in the patient group (corrected P = .04).


CONCLUSIONS
Inappropriate activation of the midbrain in response to neutral stimuli during conditioning is associated with the severity of delusional symptoms in patients with schizophrenia.
University of Edinburgh, Royal Edinburgh Hospital, Scotland.
Liana
L
Romaniuk
Garry D
GD
Honey
Julia R L
JR
King
Heather C
HC
Whalley
Andrew M
AM
McIntosh
Liat
L
Levita
Mark
M
Hughes
Eve C
EC
Johnstone
Mark
M
Day
Stephen M
SM
Lawrie
Jeremy
J
Hall
D000328:Adult; D000679:Amygdala / Q000503:physiopathology; D001479:Basal Ganglia / Q000503:physiopathology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003214:Conditioning, Classical; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003463:Cues; D003702:Delusions / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008636:Mesencephalon / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology*; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D012720:Severity of Illness Index