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Temporal processing in schizophrenia: effects of task-difficulty on behavioral discrimination and neuronal responses
Deana B Davalos1, Donald C Rojas, Jason R Tregellas
1Department of Psychiatry, University of Colorado Denver, 13001 E. 17th Place, Box F546, Aurora, Colorado 80045, United States. Davalos@ColoState.edu
Schizophrenia Research
|August 3, 2010
Summary
Individuals with schizophrenia exhibit impaired temporal judgment and altered brain activity, particularly in the striatum, especially on difficult tasks. These timing deficits involve widespread brain networks, not solely related to task difficulty.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
- Psychiatry
Background:
- Temporal judgment deficits are a known characteristic of schizophrenia.
- The underlying neuroanatomy of these timing impairments remains unclear.
- Previous research suggests timing deficits may be task-difficulty dependent.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the neurofunctional differences between individuals with schizophrenia and healthy controls during a temporal discrimination task.
- To examine the impact of task difficulty on brain activation patterns related to temporal judgment in schizophrenia.
- To identify specific brain regions involved in temporal processing deficits in schizophrenia.
Main Methods:
- Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to study 16 individuals with schizophrenia and 18 healthy controls.
- Participants performed a temporal discrimination task involving tone durations at two difficulty levels (easy and difficult).
- Behavioral performance and brain activation patterns were compared between groups and across difficulty levels.
Main Results:
- The schizophrenia group showed poorer performance on the temporal discrimination task compared to controls at both difficulty levels.
- Individuals with schizophrenia exhibited reduced activation in the supplementary motor area and insula/opercula during the easy condition.
- Group differences in brain activation, including reduced striatal activity, were more pronounced in the difficult condition, implicating the striatum in schizophrenia's temporal processing deficits.
Conclusions:
- Temporal judgment deficits in schizophrenia are associated with widespread neuroanatomical network alterations.
- The striatum plays a significant role in temporal processing, particularly under challenging conditions in schizophrenia.
- Findings highlight the complex interplay of brain regions and task difficulty in understanding timing impairments in schizophrenia.
