Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Email this article to a Colleague Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to My Articles & Searches Download to citation manager Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Articles by Gur, R. E. Articles by Gur, R. C. Search for Related Content PubMed Citation Articles by Gur, R. E. Articles by Gur, R. C. Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders MRI

An fMRI Study of Facial Emotion Processing in Patients With Schizophrenia

OBJECTIVE: Emotion processing deficits are notable in schizophrenia. The authors evaluated cerebral blood flow response in schizophrenia patients during facial emotion processing to test the hypothesis of diminished limbic activation related to emotional relevance of facial stimuli. METHOD: Fourteen patients with schizophrenia and 14 matched comparison subjects viewed facial displays of happiness, sadness, anger, fear, and disgust as well as neutral faces. Functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to measure blood-oxygen-level-dependent signal changes as the subjects alternated between tasks of discriminating emotional valence (positive versus negative) and age (over 30 versus under 30) of the faces with an interleaved crosshair reference condition. RESULTS: The groups did not differ in performance on either task. For both tasks, healthy participants showed activation in the fusiform gyrus, occipital lobe, and inferior frontal cortex relative to the resting baseline condition. The increase was greater in the amygdala and hippocampus during the emotional valence discrimination task than during the age discrimination task. In the patients with schizophrenia, minimal focal response was observed for all tasks relative to the resting baseline condition. Contrasting patients and comparison subjects on the emotional valence discrimination task revealed voxels in the left amygdala and bilateral hippocampus in which the comparison subjects had significantly greater activation. CONCLUSIONS: Failure to activate limbic regions during emotional valence discrimination may explain emotion processing deficits in patients with schizophrenia. While the lack of limbic recruitment did not significantly impair simple valence discrimination performance in this clinically stable group, it may impact performance of more demanding tasks.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				E. S. Herbener Emotional Memory in Schizophrenia Schizophr Bull, September 1, 2008; 34(5): 875 - 887. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. I. Leitman, J. Loughead, D. H. Wolf, K. Ruparel, C. G. Kohler, M. A. Elliott, W. B. Bilker, R. E. Gur, and R. C. Gur Abnormal Superior Temporal Connectivity During Fear Perception in Schizophrenia Schizophr Bull, July 1, 2008; 34(4): 673 - 678. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				Y. Chen, D. Norton, D. Ongur, and S. Heckers Inefficient Face Detection in Schizophrenia Schizophr Bull, March 1, 2008; 34(2): 367 - 374. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				P. G. Michalopoulou, S. Surguladze, L. A. Morley, V. P. Giampietro, R. M. Murray, and S. S. Shergill Facial fear processing and psychotic symptoms in schizophrenia: functional magnetic resonance imaging study The British Journal of Psychiatry, March 1, 2008; 192(3): 191 - 196. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. F. Green, D. L. Penn, R. Bentall, W. T. Carpenter, W. Gaebel, R. C. Gur, A. M. Kring, S. Park, S. M. Silverstein, and R. Heinssen Social Cognition in Schizophrenia: An NIMH Workshop on Definitions, Assessment, and Research Opportunities Schizophr Bull, January 8, 2008; (2008) sbm145v1. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. E. Gur, J. Loughead, C. G. Kohler, M. A. Elliott, K. Lesko, K. Ruparel, D. H. Wolf, W. B. Bilker, and R. C. Gur Limbic Activation Associated With Misidentification of Fearful Faces and Flat Affect in Schizophrenia Arch Gen Psychiatry, December 1, 2007; 64(12): 1356 - 1366. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. S Briellmann, M. J Hopwood, and G. D Jackson Major depression in temporal lobe epilepsy with hippocampal sclerosis: clinical and imaging correlates J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry, November 1, 2007; 78(11): 1226 - 1230. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				L. Marti-Bonmati, J. J. Lull, G. Garcia-Marti, E. J. Aguilar, D. Moratal-Perez, C. Poyatos, M. Robles, and J. Sanjuan Chronic Auditory Hallucinations in Schizophrenic Patients: MR Analysis of the Coincidence between Functional and Morphologic Abnormalities Radiology, August 1, 2007; 244(2): 549 - 556. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				B. BEDIOU, F. ASRI, J. BRUNELIN, P. KROLAK-SALMON, T. D'AMATO, M. SAOUD, and I. TAZI Emotion recognition and genetic vulnerability to schizophrenia The British Journal of Psychiatry, August 1, 2007; 191(2): 126 - 130. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. P. Morris, K. A. Pelphrey, and G. McCarthy Controlled scanpath variation alters fusiform face activation Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci, March 1, 2007; 2(1): 31 - 38. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. E. Gur, M. E. Calkins, R. C. Gur, W. P. Horan, K. H. Nuechterlein, L. J. Seidman, and W. S. Stone The Consortium on the Genetics of Schizophrenia: Neurocognitive Endophenotypes Schizophr Bull, January 1, 2007; 33(1): 49 - 68. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. E Gur, C. G Kohler, J D. Ragland, S. J Siegel, K. Lesko, W. B Bilker, and R. C Gur Flat Affect in Schizophrenia: Relation to Emotion Processing and Neurocognitive Measures Schizophr Bull, April 1, 2006; 32(2): 279 - 287. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				F. Schneider, R. C. Gur, K. Koch, V. Backes, K. Amunts, N. J. Shah, W. Bilker, R. E. Gur, and U. Habel Impairment in the Specificity of Emotion Processing in Schizophrenia Am J Psychiatry, March 1, 2006; 163(3): 442 - 447. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. Onitsuka, M. A. Niznikiewicz, K. M. Spencer, M. Frumin, N. Kuroki, L. C. Lucia, M. E. Shenton, and R. W. McCarley Functional and Structural Deficits in Brain Regions Subserving Face Perception in Schizophrenia Am J Psychiatry, March 1, 2006; 163(3): 455 - 462. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. G. Kohler, G. Anselmo-Gallagher, W. Bilker, J. Karlawish, R. E. Gur, and C. M. Clark Emotion-Discrimination Deficits in Mild Alzheimer Disease Am J Geriatr Psychiatry, November 1, 2005; 13(11): 926 - 933. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. Davatzikos, D. Shen, R. C. Gur, X. Wu, D. Liu, Y. Fan, P. Hughett, B. I. Turetsky, and R. E. Gur Whole-Brain Morphometric Study of Schizophrenia Revealing a Spatially Complex Set of Focal Abnormalities Arch Gen Psychiatry, November 1, 2005; 62(11): 1218 - 1227. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C.-H. Lin, S. Hansen, Z. Wang, D. R. Storm, S. J. Tapscott, and J. M. Olson The dosage of the neuroD2 transcription factor regulates amygdala development and emotional learning PNAS, October 11, 2005; 102(41): 14877 - 14882. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				F. Oyebode, J. Hall, and S. M. Lawrie Cognitive processing in schizophrenia * Author's reply The British Journal of Psychiatry, March 1, 2005; 186(3): 262 - 262. [Full Text] [PDF]

				U. Habel, M. Klein, N. J. Shah, I. Toni, K. Zilles, P. Falkai, and F. Schneider Genetic Load on Amygdala Hypofunction During Sadness in Nonaffected Brothers of Schizophrenia Patients Am J Psychiatry, October 1, 2004; 161(10): 1806 - 1813. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. S. Weickert, R. E. Straub, B. W. McClintock, M. Matsumoto, R. Hashimoto, T. M. Hyde, M. M. Herman, D. R. Weinberger, and J. E. Kleinman Human Dysbindin (DTNBP1) Gene Expression in Normal Brain and in Schizophrenic Prefrontal Cortex and Midbrain Arch Gen Psychiatry, June 1, 2004; 61(6): 544 - 555. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. J. Herrmann, H. Ellgring, and A. J. Fallgatter Early-Stage Face Processing Dysfunction in Patients With Schizophrenia Am J Psychiatry, May 1, 2004; 161(5): 915 - 917. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. A. Rosenkranz, H. Moore, and A. A. Grace The Prefrontal Cortex Regulates Lateral Amygdala Neuronal Plasticity and Responses to Previously Conditioned Stimuli J. Neurosci., December 3, 2003; 23(35): 11054 - 11064. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. G. Kohler, T. H. Turner, W. B. Bilker, C. M. Brensinger, S. J. Siegel, S. J. Kanes, R. E. Gur, and R. C. Gur Facial Emotion Recognition in Schizophrenia: Intensity Effects and Error Pattern Am J Psychiatry, October 1, 2003; 160(10): 1768 - 1774. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. Paradiso, N. C. Andreasen, B. Crespo-Facorro, D. S. O'Leary, G. L. Watkins, L. L. Boles Ponto, and R. D. Hichwa Emotions in Unmedicated Patients With Schizophrenia During Evaluation With Positron Emission Tomography Am J Psychiatry, October 1, 2003; 160(10): 1775 - 1783. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Get information about faster international access.

Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2002 American Psychiatric Association. All rights reserved.

Home | Search | Current Issue | Past Issues | Subscribe | All APPI Journals | Help | Contact Us