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Brain imaging correlates of self- and other-reflection in schizophrenia
Paola Fuentes-Claramonte1, Marta Martin-Subero2, Pilar Salgado-Pineda1
1FIDMAG Germanes Hospitalàries Research Foundation, Carrer Dr. Antoni Pujadas, 38, 08830 Sant Boi de Llobregat, Barcelona Spain; CIBERSAM (Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental), Spain.
Background:
An alteration in self/other differentiation has been proposed as a basis for several symptoms in schizophrenia, including delusions of reference and social functioning deficits. Dysfunction of the right temporo-parietal junction (TPJ), a region linked with social cognition, has been proposed as the basis of this alteration. However, imaging studies of self- and other-processing in schizophrenia have shown, so far, inconsistent results.
Methods:
Patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls underwent fMRI scanning while performing a task with three conditions: self-reflection, other-reflection and semantic processing.
Results:
Both groups activated similar brain regions for self- and other-reflection compared to semantic processing, including the medial prefrontal cortex, the precuneus and the TPJ. Compared to healthy subjects, patients hyperactivated the left lateral frontal cortex during self- and other-reflection. In other-reflection, compared to self-reflection, patients failed to increase right TPJ activity.
Conclusions:
Altered activity in the right TPJ supports a disturbance in self/other differentiation in schizophrenia, which could be linked with psychotic symptoms and affect social functioning in patients. Hyperactivity of the lateral frontal cortex for self- and other-reflection suggests the presence of greater cognitive demand to perform the task in the patient group.
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