Project Summary

Angus W. MacDonald, III, Ph.D. (Young Investigator 2005) of the University of Minnesota, plans to use imaging to study the brain regions associated with the paranoia symptoms seen in many people with schizophrenia. Paranoid ideation is associated with negative outcomes, including suicidality and violence, in many psychiatric disorders, including affective disorders, borderline personality disorder, and schizophrenia-spectrum disorders. Studies with the Alienation (AL) scale of the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire, which was developed to measure paranoia, suggest paranoia may be environmentally mediated in schizophrenia-spectrum patients. Neuroimaging evidence suggests that mistrust, and perhaps paranoia, involves activation of the insula and other limbic structures, such as the amygdala. The insula also shows structural abnormalities in patients with schizophrenia. The proposed study will use functional MRI to study monozygotic twins who share and do not share the symptom of paranoia as measured by the AL scale. While being scanned, twins will do a task that allows the expression of a paranoid decision-making bias while controlling for other factors. Dr. MacDonald will test the hypothesis that the insula, and perhaps other limbic structures, are inappropriately activated in paranoid twins. The twin study also should help elucidate regions involved in paranoia while parsing the extent to which these regions are under genetic and/or environmental control.

Program Area: SCHIZOPHRENIA/PSYCHOTIC DISORDERS\Schizophrenia\Paranoia

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