Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical Faculty, University of Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany.
Psychiatry Res. 2012 Jul 30;203(1):83-8. doi: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2011.11.009. Epub 2012 Aug 16.
The aim of this study was to investigate the functional basis of frequently described cognitive deficits in schizophrenia patients by exploring the electrophysiological correlates of planning processes during performance of the Trail-Making Test-B (TMT-B). Via concurrent recording of behavioral test performance, exploratory eye movements and electrical brain activity functional components critical for task performance were extracted and characterized. Participants comprised 12 first episode patients and 12 matched healthy controls who were examined with concurrent infrared oculography and electroencephalography (EEG) while they carried out a computerized TMT-B. The performance process was segmented into planning and monitoring phases based on the interaction of eye and hand movements. Brain electrical activity was analyzed using low-resolution electromagnetic brain tomography (LORETA). During planning fixations compared to monitoring fixations, both groups showed enhanced current density in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, cingulate gyrus and inferior parietal lobe. Concurrent with poorer performance, schizophrenia patients exhibited hypoactivity within prefrontal brain areas during planning. Thus, poorer performance in schizophrenia seems to be attributable to impaired planning behavior based on hypoactivity of prefrontal areas, involved in the temporal scheduling of deliberate actions as well as visuomotor integration.
本研究旨在通过探索执行连线测试 B（TMT-B）过程中规划过程的电生理相关性，来研究精神分裂症患者经常描述的认知缺陷的功能基础。通过同时记录行为测试表现、探索性眼动和电脑活动，提取并描述了对任务表现至关重要的功能成分。参与者包括 12 名首发患者和 12 名匹配的健康对照者，他们在进行计算机化 TMT-B 的同时，进行了同步红外眼动记录和脑电图（EEG）检查。根据眼动和手动的相互作用，将表现过程分为规划和监控阶段。脑电活动使用低分辨率电磁脑层析成像（LORETA）进行分析。与监控注视相比，在规划注视期间，两组的背外侧前额叶皮层、扣带回和下顶叶都显示出更高的电流密度。与较差的表现相一致，精神分裂症患者在规划期间表现出前额叶区域的活动减少。因此，精神分裂症患者的表现较差似乎归因于前额叶区域活动减少导致的规划行为受损，这涉及到深思熟虑的行动的时间安排以及视动整合。
