The neural basis of disturbed efference copy mechanism in patients with schizophrenia

Dirk T. Leube, Günther Knoblich, Michael Erb, Peter Schlotterbeck, Tilo T.J. Kircher

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract (may include machine translation)

Core psychopathological symptoms in patients with schizophrenia suggest that their sense of self may be disturbed. A disturbance in predictive motor mechanisms may be the cause of such symptoms. Ten patients with schizophrenia and ten healthy right-handed control subjects opened and closed their hand. This movement was filmed with an MRI compatible video camera and projected online onto a monitor. BOLD contrast was measured with fMRI. The temporal delay between movement and feedback was parametrically varied. Participants judged whether or not there was a delay. Patients were less sensitive to these delays than a matched control group. Comparing neural activation between the two groups showed a reduced attenuation of movement-sensitive perceptual areas in patients with increasing delay and a higher activation in the putamen in controls. The results provide further evidence that impaired efference copy mechanisms may contribute to the pathogenesis of schizophrenia and its first rank symptoms.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)111-117
Number of pages7
JournalCognitive Neuroscience
Volume1
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - 2010
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Basal ganglia
  • Corollary discharge
  • Forward model
  • Functional imaging
  • Psychiatry

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