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Visual working memory encoding in schizophrenia and first-degree relatives: neurofunctional abnormalities and impaired consolidation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 March 2018

Michael Stäblein ,
Helena Storchak ,
Denisa Ghinea ,
Dominik Kraft ,
Christian Knöchel ,
David Prvulovic ,
Robert A. Bittner ,
Andreas Reif  and
Viola Oertel-Knöchel
Michael Stäblein*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Helena Storchak
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Denisa Ghinea
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Dominik Kraft
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Christian Knöchel
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
David Prvulovic
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Robert A. Bittner
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Andreas Reif
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Viola Oertel-Knöchel
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
*
Author for correspondence: Michael Stäblein, E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Background

Working memory (WM) deficits in schizophrenia (SCZ) have been linked to impairments in the encoding phase that are associated with aberrant neuronal functioning. Similar abnormalities have been observed in unaffected first-degree relatives (REL) and are thus discussed as candidate endophenotypes. The process of WM consolidation – i.e. the formation of durable WM representations – is assumed to be impaired in SCZ, but no study has investigated WM consolidation and neuronal correlates of visual WM encoding in REL before.

Method

We examined whole-brain activation during the encoding phase with an event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging study design in 25 SCZ subjects, 22 REL subjects, and 25 healthy controls. Subjects performed a visual masked change detection task that assessed WM performance and consolidation.

Results

SCZ showed deficient WM performance indicating an impairment consolidation process, accompanied by broad neuronal hypoactivation, most prominently in frontal brain regions, as well as increased activity of the anterior cingulate during the encoding phase. REL showed decreased neuronal activity in the middle and medial frontal gyrus and increased activity in the precentral gyrus and insula during encoding, but no significant behavioral deficits were observed. In respect of given consolidation times, REL showed a shift from decreased frontal activity at short time intervals to increased frontal activity at longer time intervals.

Conclusions

Findings suggest WM consolidation may be slowed in REL so that the deployment of compensatory neuronal resources during encoding is needed to assure proper WM performance. This supports the view of WM-related neuronal dysfunctions as a potential endophenotypic marker.

Keywords

Encodingendophenotypefirst-degree relativesfMRIschizophreniaworking memory
Type
Original Articles
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 49 , Issue 1 , January 2019 , pp. 75 - 83
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

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