Abstract
BackgroundIt has been suggested that working memory deficits is a core feature of symptomatology of schizophrenia, which can be detected in patients and their unaffected relatives. The impairment of working memory has been found related to the abnormal activity of human brain regions in many functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies. This study investigated how brain region activation was altered in schizophrenia and how it was inherited independently from performance deficits.MethodThe authors used fMRI method during N-back task to assess working memory related cortical activation in four groups (N = 20 in each group, matching task performance, age, gender and education): schizophrenic patients, their unaffected biological parents, young healthy controls for the patients and older healthy controls for their parents.ResultsCompared to healthy controls, patients showed an exaggerated response in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (brodmann area [BA] 46) and bilateral ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, and had reduced activation in bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (BA 9). In the conjunction analysis, the effect of genetic risk (parents versus older control) shared significantly overlapped activation with effect of disease (patients versus young control) in the right middle frontal gyrus (BA 46) and left inferior parietal gyrus (BA 40).ConclusionsPhysiological inefficiency of dorsal prefrontal cortex and compensation involvement of ventral prefrontal cortex in working memory function may one physiological characteristics of schizophrenia. And relatively inefficient activation in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex probably can be a promising intermediate phenotype for schizophrenia.
Highlights
Schizophrenia is a highly heritable disorder with estimated heritability of approximately 81% [1,2]
Patients showed an exaggerated response in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and bilateral ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, and had reduced activation in bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (BA 9)
We found increased activation in right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) (BA 46) and bilateral ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC) (BA44/ 45) in patients compared to controls
Summary
Schizophrenia is a highly heritable disorder with estimated heritability of approximately 81% [1,2]. As a key feature of the symptomatology of schizophrenia, cognitive impairment has been reported in many domains, including working memory, executive function, attention, language and memory [3,4]. Evidence from meta-analyses and studies of unaffected relatives of schizophrenic patients suggests that cognitive impairment is familial and related to the genetic vulnerability of schizophrenia [5,6]. Studying the cognitive impairment and related neural substrate in patients with schizophrenia and their unaffected first-degree relatives may be an effective approach to understanding the pathology of schizophrenia and underlying genetic mechanism. It has been suggested that working memory deficits is a core feature of symptomatology of schizophrenia, which can be detected in patients and their unaffected relatives. The impairment of working memory has been found related to the abnormal activity of human brain regions in many functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies. This study investigated how brain region activation was altered in schizophrenia and how it was inherited independently from performance deficits
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
