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Measurement of Fronto-limbic Activity Using an Emotional Oddball Task in Children with Familial High Risk for Schizophrenia
Published on: December 2, 2015
Brain activation patterns during visual episodic memory processing among first-degree relatives of schizophrenia
Erin Stolz1, Krishna M Pancholi, Dhruman D Goradia
1Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA 16801, USA.
Neuroimage
|September 21, 2012
Summary
Schizophrenia patients show slower visual memory retrieval, with relatives exhibiting milder deficits. Brain imaging reveals increased prefrontal and thalamic activity during retrieval in patients, suggesting familial risk impacts episodic memory processing.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychiatry
- Cognitive Psychology
Background:
- Episodic memory deficits are considered a potential intermediate phenotype in schizophrenia.
- Understanding these deficits and associated neural correlates is crucial for early identification and intervention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate visual episodic memory performance and brain activation differences in early-course schizophrenia patients, their first-degree relatives, and healthy controls.
- To determine if familial risk for schizophrenia is associated with milder memory abnormalities.
Main Methods:
- Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) on a 3T scanner during visual episodic memory encoding and retrieval tasks.
- Analysis of behavioral data (response time, accuracy) and whole-brain Blood-Oxygen-Level-Dependent (BOLD) responses using SPM5.
- Comparison of three groups: early course schizophrenia (n=22), first-degree relatives (n=16), and healthy controls (n=28).
Main Results:
- Response times increased incrementally across groups (controls < relatives < schizophrenia) for both encoding and retrieval.
- Schizophrenia subjects showed significantly increased retrieval response times compared to controls, with no accuracy differences.
- Increased BOLD response during retrieval was observed in prefrontal regions (BAs 9, 8), thalamus, and insula in schizophrenia subjects and relatives compared to controls.
Conclusions:
- Early course schizophrenia is associated with significant deficits in visual episodic memory retrieval, evidenced by slower response times and altered prefrontal and thalamic activation.
- First-degree relatives exhibit milder, yet qualitatively similar, abnormalities in visual episodic memory retrieval, suggesting a potential genetic contribution.
- These findings support the role of episodic memory dysfunction as an intermediate phenotype in the schizophrenia spectrum.
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