Neural correlates of action attribution in schizophrenia

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry
• Cognitive Science

Background:

• First-rank symptoms (FRS) in schizophrenia are linked to difficulties in attributing actions to oneself.
• This may stem from an impaired sense of agency and action attribution.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the neural basis of action attribution deficits in schizophrenia patients with FRS.
• To examine regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) using positron emission tomography (PET) during an action-attribution task.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a virtual hand task to modulate movement control and action attribution.
• Measured rCBF in patients with FRS and compared to healthy subjects' responses.
• Employed PET imaging to assess brain activity during the task.

Main Results:

• Healthy subjects showed modulation of rCBF in the right angular gyrus and insula cortex with movement control.
• Schizophrenia patients with FRS exhibited an aberrant relationship between movement control and rCBF in the right angular gyrus.
• No modulation of rCBF was observed in the insular cortex of patients with FRS.

Conclusions:

• Findings suggest altered neural processing in the right angular gyrus related to action attribution in schizophrenia with FRS.
• The insula cortex may not be involved in this specific action attribution deficit in this patient group.
• Results contribute to understanding the neurobiology of self-experience disturbances in schizophrenia.