FUNCTIONAL MRI CORRELATES READING, LANGUAGE AND MEMORY

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This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Schizophrenia is a chronic psychotic illness characterized by severe mental distortions, psychotic symptoms, and cognitive disturbances. However, the specific mechanism of schizophrenia remains unknown. Two of the core deficits in schizophrenia have been recognized to involve a 'loosening of associations' and disorganization in language processing. While it is clear that language disturbances exist, the brain mechanisms that underlie these deficits are still not understood. There have been few imaging studies of basic linguistic processes in schizophrenia. Language is a complex of associations of different cognitive processes; it is the goal of this proposal to exploit these properties in order to examine how linguistic components are organized in schizophrenia and find out how the basic cognitive characteristics of schizophrenia correlate with specific brain blood flow patterns and behavior measures; and if the patterns of schizophrenia match those in normal controls. Using functional MRI, we will assess changes in brain activity patterns of schizophrenics and normal volunteers. These studies may lead us to some understanding about the mechanism of schizophrenia.