title: Aberrant visual circuitry associated with normal spatial match-to-sample accuracy in schizophrenia.
abstract: A goal of this study was to evaluate the function of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) in medicated patients with schizophrenia (SZ), a small group of first-degree relatives, and healthy controls using a visual delayed match-to-sample task in conjunction with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). To mitigate performance differences between SZ and healthy controls, we used a novel task that allows for individualized adjustment of task difficulty to match ability level. We also trained participants on the task prior to scanning. Using an event-related design, we modeled three components of the match-to-sample trial: visual encoding, delay, and discrimination. We did not find significant differences in ACC/medial frontal cortex activation between the groups. However, compared to healthy controls, SZ showed decreased activation in visual processing areas during the encoding and discrimination phases of the task and in the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex during the delay. These findings emphasize the tendency of schizophrenia subjects to solve perceptual memory problems by engaging diverse regions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294-0017, USA.
authors.forename: Kathy Burton
authors.initials: KB
authors.lastname: Avsar
authors.forename: Luke Edward
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Stoeckel
authors.forename: Mark Steven
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Bolding
authors.forename: David Matthew
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: White
authors.forename: Malle Anne
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Tagamets
authors.forename: Henry Hilliard
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Holcomb
authors.forename: Adrienne Carol
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Lahti
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001931:Brain Mapping; D003657:Decision Making; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000098:blood supply / Q000473:pathology*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology*; D013028:Space Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D014786:Vision Disorders / Q000209:etiology*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D010100:Oxygen