Authors

Andreasen NC. O'Leary DS. Cizadlo T. Arndt S. Rezai K.

Ponto LL. Watkins GL. Hichwa RD.

Institution

Mental Health Clinical Research Center, University of Iowa College of

Medicine and Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City 52242, USA.

Title

Schizophrenia and cognitive dysmetria: a positron-emission tomography study of dysfunctional prefrontal-thalamic-cerebellar circuitry.

Source

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of

America. 93(18):9985-90, 1996 Sep 3.

Abstract

Patients suffering from schizophrenia display subtle cognitive abnormalities that may reflect a difficulty in rapidly coordinating the steps that occur in a variety of mental activities. Working interactively with the prefrontal cortex, the cerebellum may play a role in coordinating both motor and cognitive performance. This positron-emission tomography study suggests the presence of a prefrontal-thalamic-cerebellar network that is activated when normal subjects recall complex narrative material, but is dysfunctional in schizophrenic patients when they perform the same task. These results support a role for the cerebellum in cognitive functions and suggest that patients with schizophrenia may suffer from a "cognitive dysmetria" due to dysfunctional prefrontal-thalamic-cerebellar circuitry.