Project Summary

Erin A. Hazlett, Ph.D. (Independent Investigator 2002) of Mount Sinai School of Medicine, has extended her work from a previous NARSAD study to examine the neural substrates of the cognitive disorganization characteristics of the schizophrenia spectrum without the confounds of chronic illness and long-term medication.  A breakdown in sensorimotor gating theoretically leads to sensory overload and secondary cognitive fragmentation and disorganization characteristically seen in schizophrenia, and to a lesser extent, in schizotypal personality disorder (SPD).  Prepulse inhibition (PPI) of the startle eyeblink response is an operational measure of sensorimotor gating, reflecting the ability to effectively dampen or screen out the potentially chaotic overflow of information and sensory stimuli.  Using state of the art 3T high-resolution fMRI with SPGR MRI, Dr. Hazlett will directly test brain structures involved in prepulse inhibition (PPI) in three groups:  rigorously diagnosed, never-medicated schizophrenia and SPD patients, and healthy volunteers.  It is predicted that SPD patients will show PPI and neural circuitry abnormalities similar, though less severe, than those observed in schizophrenia.  Using a cognitive neuroscience approach, she will interrelate the cognitive features of PPI together with clinical symptoms and brain function to further elucidate the pathophysiology of schizophrenia and most importantly, its spectrum phenomena. 

Program Area: MULTIPLE FOCUS AREAS\Schizophrenia/Schizotypal Personality Disorder

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