Dopaminergic modulation of (meta)cognitive dysfunctions associated with psychotic symptomatology: a double-blind study

精神分裂症患者表现出许多神经心理缺陷，然而，这些缺陷与该疾病的核心生产症状的关系最小。近年来出现了一些替代方法，这些方法较少关注基础神经心理缺陷，而更多地关注更高级别的认知偏差和背景处理功能障碍。对精神分裂症患者后一种（元）认知功能的研究一致显示与阳性和紊乱症状有关。然而，目前尚不清楚这些（元）认知功能障碍与已知的疾病神经生物学标志物之间的关系，特别是与被认为是精神病症状基础的多巴胺能亢进之间的关系。本研究旨在系统地评估多巴胺能激动剂和拮抗剂对实验范式的影响，这些范式一直被报道与精神分裂症的阳性和无序症状相关。为此，40名健康个体将在重复测量、随机双盲设计中接受左旋多巴、氟哌啶醇或安慰剂的试验。这项研究有望为精神分裂症核心症状背后的生物心理病理过程提供新的见解，并为针对多巴胺相关认知过程的治疗干预的发展提供激励。

Patients with schizophrenia exhibit a number of neuropsychological deficits which, however, are minimally associated with the core productive symptoms of the illness. In recent years, alternative approaches focusing less on basal neuropsychological deficits and more on higher-grade cognitive biases and context processing dysfunctions have emerged. Studies of the latter (meta)cognitive functions in patients with schizophrenia have consistently shown an association with positive and disorganized symptoms. However, it is as yet not clear how these (meta)cognitive dysfunctions relate to the known neurobiological markers of the illness, especially with the dopaminergic hyperactivity postulated to underlie psychotic symptoms. The present study aims to systematically assess the effects of dopaminergic agonists and antagonists on experimental paradigms that have been consistently reported to correlate with positive and disorganized symptoms of schizophrenia. To this purpose, fourty healthy individuals will be tested upon administration of L-Dopa, Haloperidol, or placebo within a repeated measures, randomized, double-blind design. The study will hopefully provide new insights into the biopsychopathological processes underlying the core symptoms of schizophrenia, as well as incentives for the development of therapeutic interventions targeting dopamine-related cognitive processes.