1. Prefrontal dysfunction in schizophrenia controlling for COMT Val158Met genotype and working memory performance.
- Author
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Bertolino A, Caforio G, Petruzzella V, Latorre V, Rubino V, Dimalta S, Torraco A, Blasi G, Quartesan R, Mattay VS, Callicott JH, Weinberger DR, and Scarabino T
- Subjects
- Adult, Demography, Female, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Memory Disorders epidemiology, Neuropsychological Tests, Phenotype, Polymerase Chain Reaction, Schizophrenia epidemiology, Severity of Illness Index, Catechol O-Methyltransferase genetics, Gene Expression genetics, Genotype, Memory Disorders diagnosis, Prefrontal Cortex physiopathology, Schizophrenia genetics, Schizophrenia physiopathology
- Abstract
Earlier studies with functional imaging in schizophrenia have demonstrated dysfunction of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex during working memory. Controlling for behavioral performance and for catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) Val158Met genotype, we here demonstrate in a functional magnetic resonance imaging paradigm that patients recruit greater neuronal resources in prefrontal cortex during working memory, suggesting that this phenotype is a core functional trait of the disease. We also replicated earlier findings that the Val allele of the COMT polymorphism is associated with greater engagement of the prefrontal cortex.
- Published
- 2006
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