Neuropsychological Functioning and Dimensions of Symptoms in Schizophrenia

Objectives：On the basis of the relationship between positron emission tomography and symptom profiles in schizophrenia by Liddle et al, the authors attempted to investigate the related brain regions associated with clinical symptoms by studying the correlations between the performance of neuro-psychological tests likely to reflect functioning of dorsolateral prefrontal, orbitofrontal or cingulate, parietal, and temporal cortices and 3 dimensions (psychotic or reality distortion, negative, and disorganization) of symptoms. Methods：41 subjects with a confirmed diagnosis of schizophrenia were scored for each of the three dimensions by Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale. Subjects performed 12 neuropsychological tests designed to measure impairment in specific areas of the brain. Results：According to partial correlations to remove possible confounding variables, the neuropsychological correlates of psychotic (reality distortion) and disorganization dimensions were some tests considered to be related to dorsolateral prefrontal and parietal lobes, and cingulate and dorsolateral prefrontal cortices, respectively. Conclusion：The results support a part of hypotheses, a specific relation between disorganization and cingulate cortex. In addition our results suggest the possibile relations between a psychotic dimension and functions of dorsolateral prefrontal and parietal lobes, and between a disorganization one and functions of cingulate and dorsolateral prefrontal cortices. The authors believe that our study supports different neural circuits associated with each of dimensions of symptoms, particularly psychotic and disorganization, in schizophrenia.ope