The neural basis of a deficit in abstract thinking in patients with schizophrenia.
Abnormal abstract thinking is a major cause of social dysfunction in patients with schizophrenia, but little is known about its neural basis. In this study, we aimed to determine the characteristic abstract thinking-related brain responses in patients using a task reflecting social situations. We conducted functional magnetic resonance imaging while 16 patients with schizophrenia and 16 healthy controls performed a theme-identification task, in which various emotional pictures depicting social situations were presented. Compared with healthy controls, the patients showed significantly decreased activity in the left frontopolar and right orbitofrontal cortices during theme identification. Activity in these two regions correlated well in the controls, but not in patients. Instead, the patients exhibited a close correlation between activity in both sides of the frontopolar cortex, and a positive correlation between the right orbitofrontal cortex activity and degrees of theme identification. Reduced activity in the left frontopolar and right orbitofrontal cortices and the underlying aberrant connectivity may be implicated in the patients' deficits in abstract thinking. These newly identified features of the neural basis of abnormal abstract thinking are important as they have implications for the impaired social behavior of patients with schizophrenia during real-life situations.
Department of Medical System Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Gwangju, Republic of Korea.
Jooyoung
J
Oh
Institute of Behavioral Science in Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Ji-Won
JW
Chun
Section on Functional Imaging Methods, Laboratory of Brain and Cognition, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
Hang
H
Joon Jo
Institute of Behavioral Science in Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Eunseong
E
Kim
Department of Nuclear Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Hae-Jeong
HJ
Park
Department of Medical System Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Gwangju, Republic of Korea; School of Mechatronics, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Gwangju, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: leebr@gist.ac.kr.
Boreom
B
Lee
Institute of Behavioral Science in Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea; Department of Psychiatry, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: jaejkim@yonsei.ac.kr.
Jae-Jin
JJ
Kim
D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D012919:Social Behavior; D013850:Thinking / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
Abstract thinking; FMRI; Frontopolar cortex; Orbitofrontal cortex; Schizophrenia; Theme identification