title: Abnormal GABAergic function and face processing in schizophrenia: A pharmacologic-fMRI study.
abstract: The involvement of the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) system in schizophrenia is suggested by postmortem studies and the common use of GABA receptor-potentiating agents in treatment. In a recent study, we used a benzodiazepine challenge to demonstrate abnormal GABAergic function during processing of negative visual stimuli in schizophrenia. This study extended this investigation by mapping GABAergic mechanisms associated with face processing and social appraisal in schizophrenia using a benzodiazepine challenge. Fourteen stable, medicated schizophrenia/schizoaffective patients (SZ) and 13 healthy controls (HC) underwent functional MRI using the blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) technique while they performed the Socio-emotional Preference Task (SePT) on emotional face stimuli ("Do you like this face?"). Participants received single-blinded intravenous saline and lorazepam (LRZ) in two separate sessions separated by 1-3weeks. Both SZ and HC recruited medial prefrontal cortex/anterior cingulate during the SePT, relative to gender identification. A significant drug by group interaction was observed in the medial occipital cortex, such that SZ showed increased BOLD signal to LRZ challenge, while HC showed an expected decrease of signal; the interaction did not vary by task. The altered BOLD response to LRZ challenge in SZ was significantly correlated with increased negative affect across multiple measures. The altered response to LRZ challenge suggests that abnormal face processing and negative affect in SZ are associated with altered GABAergic function in the visual cortex, underscoring the role of impaired visual processing in socio-emotional deficits in schizophrenia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA. Electronic address: ivytso@umich.edu.
authors.forename: Ivy F
authors.initials: IF
authors.lastname: Tso
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, IL, USA.
authors.forename: K Luan
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Phan
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Department of Radiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Robert C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Welsh
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Stephan F
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Taylor
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000187:drug effects*; D005145:Face; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006993:Hypnotics and Sedatives / Q000627:therapeutic use; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008140:Lorazepam / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000187:drug effects; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology; D016037:Single-Blind Method; D064232:Visual Analog Scale; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D006993:Hypnotics and Sedatives; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid; D008140:Lorazepam; D010100:Oxygen
keywords: Benzodiazepine; Emotion; Psychosis; Social cognition; fMRI