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Reduced fMRI activity in response to salient stimuli in first-episode schizophrenia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 June 2014

K Brown ,
D Alexander ,
P Boord ,
P Das ,
G Flynn ,
C Galletly ,
E Gordon ,
A Harris ,
TJ Whitford  and
W Wong
...Show all authors
K Brown
Affiliation:
Brain Dynamics Centre, Westmead Millenium Institute, Westmead Hospital and the University of Sydney, Australia
D Alexander
Affiliation:
Brain Resource Company
P Boord
Affiliation:
Brain Dynamics Centre, Westmead Millenium Institute, Westmead Hospital and the University of Sydney, Australia
P Das
Affiliation:
Brain Dynamics Centre, Westmead Millenium Institute, Westmead Hospital and the University of Sydney, Australia Neuroscience Institute of Schizophrenia and Allied Disorders (NISAD)
G Flynn
Affiliation:
Liverpool Hospital, Early Psychosis Intervention Program
C Galletly
Affiliation:
University of Adelaide
E Gordon
Affiliation:
Brain Dynamics Centre, Westmead Millenium Institute, Westmead Hospital and the University of Sydney, Australia Brain Resource Company
A Harris
Affiliation:
Brain Dynamics Centre, Westmead Millenium Institute, Westmead Hospital and the University of Sydney, Australia The University of Sydney, Australia
TJ Whitford
Affiliation:
Brain Dynamics Centre, Westmead Millenium Institute, Westmead Hospital and the University of Sydney, Australia
W Wong
Affiliation:
Liverpool Hospital, Early Psychosis Intervention Program
L Williams
Affiliation:
Brain Dynamics Centre, Westmead Millenium Institute, Westmead Hospital and the University of Sydney, Australia The University of Sydney, Australia
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Abstract

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Type
Abstracts from ‘Brainwaves’— The Australasian Society for Psychiatric Research Annual Meeting 2006, 6–8 December, Sydney, Australia
Information
Acta Neuropsychiatrica , Volume 18 , Issue 6 , December 2006 , pp. 279 - 280
Copyright
Copyright © 2006 Blackwell Munksgaard

Background:

Our integrative neuroscience model of schizophrenia highlights the lack of coordinated neural activity required for effective processing of salient and task-relevant stimuli. The ‘auditory oddball’ task taps the fundamental mechanisms of selecting and responding to salient stimuli, and disturbances on this task are a trait-like marker for schizophrenia. The objective of this study was to use functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to identify the neural circuits underlying disturbances processing oddball stimuli in firstepisode schizophrenia (FES).

Method:

fMRI data were collected from 24 people with FES (within 3 months of service contact) and 24 matched healthy controls while performing an auditory oddball task comprising 15% target (high) tones and 85% standard (low) tones. Data were analyzed in SPM2, with event-related analysis of the supramarginal gyrus, thalamus, and limbic and prefrontal cortical areas.

Results:

The FES group showed significantly reduced activity in the thalamus, hippocampus, dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex and supramarginal gyrus, but a pattern of enhancement as well as reduction in medial prefrontal/anterior cingulate activity, compared with controls.

Conclusions:

These findings suggest that schizophrenia is associated with impairments in networks for processing salience as well as context from the first episode of this illness. Dysregulation of medial prefrontal areas may reflect an attempt to compensate for a fundamental breakdown in the coordination of these processes.