title: Neural responses during social reflection in relatives of schizophrenia patients: relationship to subclinical delusions.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Deficits in the capacity to reflect about the self and others ("social reflection" [SR]) have been identified in schizophrenia, as well as in people with a genetic or clinical risk for the disorder. However, the neural underpinnings of these abnormalities are incompletely understood.
  
  
  METHODS
  Responses of a network of brain regions known to be involved in self and other processing (e.g., medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC), posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), and superior temporal gyrus (STG)) were measured during SR in 16 first-degree, non-psychotic relatives (RELS) of schizophrenia patients and 16 healthy controls (CONS). Because of prior evidence linking dysfunction in this network and delusions, associations between SR-related responses of this network and subclinical delusions (measured using the Peters et al. Delusions Inventory) were also examined.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared with CONS, RELS showed significantly less SR-related activity of the right and left PCC and STG. Moreover, response magnitudes were negatively correlated with levels of delusional thinking across both groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings suggest that aberrant function of the neural circuitry underpinning SR is associated with the genetic liability to schizophrenia and confers vulnerability to delusional beliefs.
authors.affiliation: The Department of Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States; The Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States. Electronic address: bbrent@bidmc.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Benjamin K
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Brent
authors.affiliation: The Department of Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States; The Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States.
authors.forename: Larry J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Seidman
authors.affiliation: The Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, United States.
authors.forename: Garth
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Coombs
authors.affiliation: The Department of Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States.
authors.forename: Matcheri S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Keshavan
authors.affiliation: The Center for Brain Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, United States; U.S. Army Natick Soldier Research, Development, and Engineering Center, United States.
authors.forename: Joseph M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Moran
authors.affiliation: The HST-MIT Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Charlestown, MA, United States; The Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States.
authors.forename: Daphne J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Holt
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D003702:Delusions / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000503:physiopathology; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011930:Reaction Time; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000235:genetics / Q000503:physiopathology; D012938:Social Perception; D013850:Thinking / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: Delusions; Genetic risk; Relatives; Schizophrenia; Social reflection