Abstract
Earlier efforts to localize the symptoms of schizophrenia in a single brain region have been replaced by models that postulate a disruption in parallel distributed or dynamic circuits. Based on empirical data derived from both magnetic resonance and positron emission tomography, we have developed a model that implicates connectivity among nodes located in prefrontal regions, the thalamic nuclei, and the cerebellum. A disruption in this circuitry produces "cognitive dysmetria," difficulty in prioritizing, processing, coordinating, and responding to information. This "poor mental coordination" is a fundamental cognitive deficit in schizophrenia and can account for its broad diversity of symptoms.
Publication types
-
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
-
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.
-
Review
MeSH terms
-
Brain / diagnostic imaging
-
Brain / pathology
-
Brain / physiopathology*
-
Cerebellum / anatomy & histology
-
Cerebellum / diagnostic imaging
-
Cerebellum / physiopathology
-
Frontal Lobe / diagnostic imaging
-
Frontal Lobe / pathology
-
Frontal Lobe / physiopathology
-
Humans
-
Models, Neurological*
-
Nerve Net / anatomy & histology
-
Nerve Net / physiology
-
Neurobehavioral Manifestations / physiology*
-
Radionuclide Imaging
-
Schizophrenia / complications
-
Schizophrenia / diagnostic imaging
-
Schizophrenia / pathology
-
Schizophrenia / physiopathology*
-
Thalamus / diagnostic imaging
-
Thalamus / pathology
-
Thalamus / physiopathology