Sensorimotor Interactions in Childhood Schizophrenia

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Soft neurological examinations in patients with psychotic illnesses have indicated salient sensorimotor abnormalities emerge early in life and are sustained through adulthood. The current proposal would investigate the neural basis of these sensorimotor aberrations in children with schizophrenia and matched controls. Using magnetoencephalography (MEG), the neuronal dynamics of sensorimotor processing will be probed during volitional finger movements and passive somatosensory stimulation. MEG analyses will utilize a beamforming approach that precisely images spatiotemporal activation patterns within a normalized space. In conjunction with the behavioral tasks, this imaging protocol will allow evaluation of interactive processes between motor and somatosensory cortices, as well as functional indices of each area in relative isolation. The results of this study could provide crucial data on the anomalous neural mechanisms underlying the sensorimotor abnormalities. Although these deficits are characteristic of schizophrenia patients at all ages, acquiring such knowledge in children will facilitate the identification of early neurophysiological markers of the illness, which could be especially important for earlier and more accurate diagnosis.