Visual Plasticity in Schizophrenia:A Training Program

描述(申请人提供)：精神分裂症的特征是思维过程中的一系列异常。松散的联想是这种综合征的主要特征之一。在这种情况下，认知要素之间的联想不遵循正常个体的凝聚力结构。在功能上，在精神分裂症的许多不同的大脑区域都发现了异常。这表明，精神分裂症中的联想思维障碍可以通过调节联想的广泛大脑区域之间的相互作用来理解。这项研究的目的是描述精神分裂症患者和正常功能的人在单字阅读时大脑区域之间的相互作用。众所周知，阅读是一项涉及广泛联想的任务。更一般地，根据其内容和排列，字母或符号串可以具有各种关联，从与真实单词相关联的语义、语音和词汇熟悉到不熟悉符号串中的纯视觉特性。这项研究的目的是通过使用与真实单词相似程度不同的四种不同类型的字符串进行阅读任务，深入调查大脑广泛区域之间的相互作用如何调节精神分裂症患者的认知联想。这项研究包括三个部分：1)确定调节正常志愿者和精神分裂症患者执行任务的网络；2)计算这个网络各组成部分之间的相互作用，并评估它们在两组之间的差异；3)检查当受试者熟悉最初不熟悉的弦时，如何形成联系。这项研究将有助于更好地理解精神分裂症患者的语言障碍。结合这项研究，建议的教育活动将为我开始使用行为和药物操作进行独立的临床研究做好准备。这种研究和教育相结合的方法可能会加强针对大脑特定相互作用元素的药物开发，并可能促进精神分裂症治疗策略的改进。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): A wide range of abnormalities in thought processes characterizes schizophrenia. Loose associations a condition in which associations among cognitive elements do not follow the cohesive structure found in normal individuals, is one of the cardinal features of this syndrome. Functionally, abnormalities have been found in a number of different brain regions in schizophrenia. This suggests that associative thought disorder in schizophrenia might be understood in terms of the interactions among widespread brain regions that mediate associations. This study is aimed at characterizing interactions among brain regions during single-word reading, both in schizophrenia and in normal function. Reading is a task that is known to tap into a wide range of associations. More generally, strings of letters or symbols, depending on their content and arrangement, can have a variety of associations ranging from semantic, phonological and lexical familiarity associated with real words to the purely visual properties in strings of unfamiliar symbols. The goal of this study is to perform an in-depth investigation into how interactions among widespread regions of the brain mediate cognitive associations in schizophrenia by using reading tasks with four different types of strings that vary in their similarity to real words. The study includes 3 segments: 1) Identification of the networks that mediate the tasks in normal volunteers and in patients with schizophrenia; 2) Computation of the interactions among the components of this network and assessment of how they differ between the two groups; and 3) Examination of how associations are formed when subjects are familiarized with initially unfamiliar strings. This research will lead to a better understanding of language disorganization in schizophrenia. In conjunction with the research, the educational activities proposed will prepare me to begin independent clinical research using both behavioral and pharmacological manipulations. This combined research and educational approach may enhance drug development with respect to specific interacting elements of the brain, and may promote an improvement in schizophrenia treatment strategies.