The schizotypal brain – An fMRI antisaccade task study

Abstract

Schizotypy is defined as a collection of attenuated schizophrenia-like personality traits. While the association between schizotypy and schizophrenia is well-established at the phenotypic level, little is known about the overlap in brain functioning. Antisaccade task performance is a measure of cognitive control, a neurocognitive marker for schizophrenia and found to be diminished in schizotypy. Here, we investigated brain functioning of the schizotypal brain in the general population. One hundred forty-two healthy participants underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during the antisaccade task and assessment of psychometric schizotypy. Positive schizotypy and antisaccade error rate were significantly associated at the phenotypic level (r = .19). Antisaccade task performance was associated with activations in a fronto-parietal subcortical network. Brain activations in these areas were mostly negatively correlated with schizotypy levels, supporting a link between schizotypy and schizophrenia at the neural level. Findings will be discussed in terms of neural overlap in the schizophrenia spectrum.