Project Summary

David L. Penn, Ph.D. (Independent Investigator 2003) of University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, will use a social-cognitive task (i.e., the ‘trustworthiness’ task) to exam the neural basis of paranoia during social information processing among individual with schizophrenia. Social information processing or social cognition affects how a person perceives and interprets social stimuli, such as facial expression and social behavior. Specific neural regions in the brain exist which process social information--predominantly these are Fusi form Gyrus (FFG), Superior Temporal Sulcus (STS). Amygdala (AMY), and the Orbitofrontal Cortex (OFC). The AMY appears to be integral to processing social information signifying a threat, which suggests that paranoia may result from AMY dysfunction or over-activation. It appears there are functional differences in neural development between individuals with paranoid schizophrenia and those with non-paranoid schizophrenia, and control subjects when processing negative social stimuli (i.e., sad or angry facial expressions). Using the ‘trustworthiness task’ which requires individuals to rate the trustworthiness of a stimulus face, Dr. Penn will use fMRI to determine AMY activation. He hypothesizes that in comparison with controls and patients with schizophrenia but without persecutory delusions, those patients with schizophrenia with residual persecutory delusions will show increased AMY activation during performance on a social cognitive task that requires judgments of threat. He will also analyze how the other areas not directly related to threat perception (FFG, STS, and OFC) are activated.

Program Area: SCHIZOPHRENIA/PSYCHOTIC DISORDERS\Schizophrenia

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