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A functional anatomic study of emotion in schizophrenia
Stephan F Taylor1, Israel Liberzon, Laura R Decker
1Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan Medical Center, UH 9D Box 0118, 1500 E. Medical Center Drive, Ann Arbor MI 48109-0118, USA. sftaylor@umich.edu
Schizophrenia Research
|November 1, 2002
Summary
Schizophrenia patients show abnormal brain activity in response to emotional images, particularly in the amygdala, which correlates with positive symptoms. This suggests a general difficulty in processing salient stimuli in schizophrenia.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychiatry
- Medical Imaging
Background:
- Schizophrenia is associated with emotional processing deficits.
- The amygdala's role in emotional processing and its dysfunction in schizophrenia are not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate limbic-emotional function in schizophrenia using salient stimuli.
- To test hypotheses regarding amygdala activity and its relationship with positive symptoms in schizophrenia.
Main Methods:
- Positron emission tomography (PET) with [15O] water was used to measure brain activity.
- Fourteen schizophrenia patients and 13 healthy controls viewed aversive (AV) and non-aversive (NA) pictures.
- Brain activity was compared across conditions (AV-NA, NA-BL) and groups.
Main Results:
- Both groups activated the right insula for AV-NA stimuli.
- Schizophrenia patients showed greater medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) activation for AV-NA.
- Controls activated bilateral amygdala and orbitofrontal cortex for NA-BL, while patients only activated left orbitofrontal cortex.
- Left amygdala activity correlated with positive symptoms in patients.
- Schizophrenia patients exhibited reduced visual cortex modulation and specific deficits in the left fusiform and mid-occipital gyrus.
Conclusions:
- Schizophrenia is characterized by a general failure to process salient stimuli.
- Amygdala dysfunction is implicated in the positive symptoms of schizophrenia.