title: Failure of deactivation in the default mode network: a trait marker for schizophrenia?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Functional imaging studies in relatives of schizophrenic patients have had inconsistent findings, particularly with respect to altered dorsolateral prefrontal cortex activation. Some recent studies have also suggested that failure of deactivation may be seen.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 28 patients with schizophrenia, 28 of their siblings and 56 healthy controls underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging during performance of the n-back working memory task. An analysis of variance was fitted to individual whole-brain maps from each set of patient-relative-matched pair of controls. Clusters of significant difference among the groups were then used as regions of interest to compare mean activations and deactivations among the groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In all, five clusters of significant differences were found. The schizophrenic patients, but not the relatives, showed reduced activation compared with the controls in the lateral frontal cortex bilaterally, the left basal ganglia and the cerebellum. In contrast, both the patients and the relatives showed significant failure of deactivation compared with the healthy controls in the medial frontal cortex, with the relatives also showing less failure than the patients. Failure of deactivation was not associated with schizotypy scores or presence of psychotic-like experiences in the relatives.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Both schizophrenic patients and their relatives show altered task-related deactivation in the medial frontal cortex. This in turn suggests that default mode network dysfunction may function as a trait marker for schizophrenia.
authors.affiliation: FIDMAG Germanes Hospitalàries,Barcelona,Spain.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Landin-Romero
authors.affiliation: FIDMAG Germanes Hospitalàries,Barcelona,Spain.
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: McKenna
authors.affiliation: FIDMAG Germanes Hospitalàries,Barcelona,Spain.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Salgado-Pineda
authors.affiliation: FIDMAG Germanes Hospitalàries,Barcelona,Spain.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sarró
authors.affiliation: FIDMAG Germanes Hospitalàries,Barcelona,Spain.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Aguirre
authors.affiliation: FIDMAG Germanes Hospitalàries,Barcelona,Spain.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sarri
authors.affiliation: FIDMAG Germanes Hospitalàries,Barcelona,Spain.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Compte
authors.affiliation: FIDMAG Germanes Hospitalàries,Barcelona,Spain.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bosque
authors.affiliation: Hospital Sant Joan de Déu Infantil,Barcelona,Spain.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Blanch
authors.affiliation: FIDMAG Germanes Hospitalàries,Barcelona,Spain.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Salvador
authors.affiliation: FIDMAG Germanes Hospitalàries,Barcelona,Spain.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pomarol-Clotet
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001479:Basal Ganglia / Q000503:physiopathology; D015415:Biomarkers; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000502:physiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000503:physiopathology*; D035781:Siblings; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers
keywords: working memory