LEARNING AND MEMORY IN PET CBF STUDIES OF SCHIZOPHRENIA

拟议的研究将检查区域性脑功能障碍， 通过测量患者的局部脑血流量（CBF）， 正常对照组在执行言语和面部记忆任务时。的 对学习和记忆的关注，是因为有证据表明， 在精神分裂症中受损不成比例。建议的研究 该RO 1将使用“神经行为探针”方法来帮助识别 记忆任务执行过程中异常激活的区域。CBF 将使用15-氧标记水（“慢推注”） 方法）。受试者为精神分裂症患者和正常对照 （平衡的社会人口统计学），他们将在休息时进行研究 基线和3个激活条件。 要检查的实验维度是学习（获得）与 回忆和言语与面部刺激。每个牢房有60个实验对象 30名男性30名女性，15名精神分裂症患者和15名正常对照者， 性别.基于这些实验的结果和神经心理学 在MHCRC进行的研究，其他方面显示差异 可以检查精神分裂症的损害。这些可能是列表vs 配对联想学习，情感与非情感，或“程序”与 “陈述性”记忆 正常对照的假设是，实验条件 会不同程度地激活参与学习的大脑区域， 检索过程有一些证据表明， 在海马体和相关皮层、颞叶和 背外侧额叶皮质区在法线中，我们可以测试 假设采集时的激活相对于 回忆，具有词（L>R）与面孔（R>L）的偏侧效应。在更早 对皮质CBF的研究发现， 与更好的性能相关联，这可以在 目前对皮质下区域的研究。我们将研究 这一系统的各个方面在精神分裂症中受损， 激活异常与症状有关假说 严重程度和神经心理缺陷。

The proposed studies will examine regional brain dysfunction in schizophrenia by measuring local cerebral blood flow (CBF) in patients and normal controls during performance of verbal and facial memory tasks. The focus on learning and memory is prompted by evidence that these functions are disproportionately impaired in schizophrenia. The studies proposed in this RO1 will use the "Neurobehavioral Probe" method to help identify regions of abnormal activation during performance of memory tasks. CBF will be measured with PET using 15-Oxygen labelled water (the "slow bolus" method). Subjects will be patients with schizophrenia and normal controls (balanced socio-demographically), and they will each be studied at resting baseline and 3 activation conditions. The experimental dimensions to be examined are learning (acquisition) vs recall and verbal vs facial stimuli. There will be 60 subjects per cell, 30 men 30 women, 15 patients with schizophrenia and 15 normal controls per gender. Based on results of these experiments and neuropsychological studies performed in the MHCRC, other dimensions which show differential impairment in schizophrenia can be examined. These could be list vs paired-associate learning, emotional vs nonemotional, or "procedural" vs "declarative" memory. The hypothesis for normal controls is that the experimental conditions will differentially activate brain regions engaged in learning and retrieval processes. There is some convergence of evidence for the primary role in memory of the hippocampus and associated cortex, temporal and dorsolateral frontal cortical regions. In normals we can test the hypothesis that activation will be greater for acquisition relative to recall, with laterality effects for words (L>R) vs faces (R>L). In earlier studies of cortical CBF we found specificity of activation to be associated with better performance, and this can be extended in the present investigation to subcortical regions. We will examine which aspects of this system are impaired in schizophrenia, and test the hypothesis that abnormalities in activation are related to symptom severity and neuropsychological deficits.