Disturbed Facial Affect Recognition in Patients With Schizophrenia Associated With Hypoactivity in Distributed Brain Regions: A Magnetoencephalographic Study

• DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.158.9.1429
• Publication Date: 2002-10-11T18:20:39Z
• Authors: Marcus Streit; Andreas Ioannides; Thorsten Sinnemann; Wolfgang Wölwer; Jürgen Dammers; Karl Zilles; Wolfgang Gaebel
• Keywords: Hypoactivity; Affect

OBJECTIVE: The authors sought to identify brain mechanisms underlying the well-documented facial affect recognition deficit in patients with schizophrenia. Since this is stable over course of illness and relatively specific for schizophrenic disorders, it was expected that knowledge about related would provide substantial information pathophysiology illness. METHOD: Fifteen partly remitted inpatients 12 healthy volunteers categorized expressions emotion performed two control tasks while magnetoencephalographic recordings were done by means a 148-channel whole head system, which revealed foci high cerebral activity their evolution time. Anatomical sites defined through coregistrated magnetic resonance images. RESULTS: magnetoencephalography data recorded response generated weaker activations (primary current density) inferior prefrontal, temporal, occipital, parietal areas at circumscribed latencies. Group differences did not occur basic visual during first sensory-related activation between 60 120 msec. Behavioral performance associated strength prefrontal areas, right posterior fusiform gyrus region, anterior temporal cortex, cortex. CONCLUSIONS: Disturbed might be result hypoactivity distributed regions, some them previously disorders. These regions are probably working within spatially temporally circuitry.