Project Summary

Joanna Katsanis, Ph.D. (Young Investigator 2001) of University of Arizona, is evaluating the brain regions involved in the generation of poor antisaccade eye movements in relatives of patients with schizophrenia.  Antisaccade eye movements are fast eye movements toward a target that appears in the periphery.  A subgroup of patients with schizophrenia, and their relatives, have an abnormality to perform this function.  Dr. Katsams will study 12 relatives of patients with schizophrenia who perform poorly on the task, 12 relatives with normal performance and 12 controls.  It is hypothesized that the relatives with poor antisaccade performance will have diminished ability to recruit the prefrontal cortex and will show relative deactivation in this area.  Functional magnetic resonance imaging will be used to measure brain activation.  This work may help increase our understanding of the abnormal physiology that underlies schizophrenia.

Program Area: SCHIZOPHRENIA/PSYCHOTIC DISORDERS\Schizophrenia

Search Again