Visual Processing in Schizophrenia and SPD

描述：（由申请人提供）本研究项目的总体目标 是使用心理测量学、心理物理学和电生理学技术， 描述精神分裂症谱系障碍的视觉处理缺陷。 这个项目的模型提出精神分裂症患者 (SZ)，但不是典型人格障碍（SPD）的受试者， 显示早期视力障碍和与视力相关的事件 指示视网膜膝状体或枕叶皮质的电位（ERP） 干扰.此外，这些干扰似乎是最深刻的， 需要高时间分辨率或整合的刺激和任务，暗示性的 受到干扰的神经同步因为神经同步在高 激发频率对于空间和时间结合可能是必要的， 这种赤字可以解释一系列广泛的干扰， SZ.该模型还表明，工作记忆缺陷是一个核心特征， 精神分裂症和SPD，这反映了额叶功能受损。 短时视觉记忆的辨别力和延迟匹配测验 将被用来检验这些行为假设。事件相关电位 范例将用于评估感觉过程，EEG同步， 周期性刺激、感觉门控、注意力和工作记忆 运营神经回路的计算建模将用于评估 NMDA和烟碱调节异常在产生这些缺陷中的作用。这些 研究结果可能提供关于精神分裂症和SPD 不同地影响早期的视觉和记忆操作;牵连 特定的视觉通路和回路，可能对 神经发育损伤;并表明视觉处理缺陷可以 确定精神分裂症谱系障碍的核心特征。

DESCRIPTION: (provided by applicant) The overall aim of this research program is to use psychometric, psychophysical, and electrophysiological techniques to characterize visual processing deficits in schizophrenia spectrum disorders. The model motivating this project proposes that patients with schizophrenia (SZ), but not subjects with schizotypal personality disorder (SPD), will demonstrate disturbances of early stage vision and visual event related potentials (ERP) indicative of retino-geniculate or occipital cortex disturbances. Moreover, these disturbances appear to be most profound for stimuli and tasks requiring high temporal resolution or integration, suggestive of disturbed neural synchronization. Because neural synchronization at high firing frequencies may be essential for spatial and temporal binding or integration, this deficit could account for a broad range of disturbances in SZ. The model also suggests that working memory deficits are a core feature of both schizophrenia and SPD, which reflect disrupted frontal lobe function. Discrimination and delayed match-to-sample tests of short-term visual memory will be used to test these behavioral hypotheses. Event-related potential paradigms will be used to assess sensory processes, EEG synchronization to periodic stimulation, sensory gating, and attention and working memory operations. Computational modeling of neural circuits will be used to assess the role of NMDA and nicotinic dysregulation in producing these deficits. These findings may provide evidence regarding how schizophrenia and SPD differentially affect early stage vision and memory operations; implicate specific visual pathways and circuits which may be differentially sensitive to neurodevelopmental insults; and indicate visual processing deficits can identify core features across schizophrenia spectrum disorders.