[Schizophrenia as a disconnection syndrome. Studies with functional magnetic resonance imaging and structural...

Aside from characteristic psychopathological symptoms, cognitive deficits are a core feature of schizophrenia. These deficits can only be addressed within the context of widespread functional interactions among different brain areas. To examine these interactions, structural equation modeling (SEM) was used for the analysis of fMRI datasets. In a series of studies, both in antipsychotic-treated and drug-free schizophrenic patients, a pattern of enhanced thalamocortical functional connectivity could be observed as an indicator for possible disruptions of frontostriatal thalamocortical circuitry. Moreover, drug-free patients and those receiving typical antipsychotic drugs were characterized by reduced interhemispheric corticocortical connectivity. This difference relative to normal controls was less in patients under atypical antipsychotic drugs. The results could be interpreted as a beneficial effect of atypical antipsychotic drugs on information processing in schizophrenic patients. The present findings are consistent with the model of schizophrenia as a disconnection syndrome and earlier concepts of "cognitive dysmetria" in schizophrenia.