A functional neuroimaging family study of facial emotion perception in schizophrenia

Deficits in facial emotion perception in schizophrenia may be a vulnerability marker for the disorder. Previous neuroimaging studies investigating these deficits were limited by confounding task demands that may recruit other impaired cognitive processes in schizophrenia. We used a family study design along with a passive viewing task to investigate brain activation abnormalities underlying facial emotion perception in schizophrenia and examine whether such abnormalities are associated with the genetic vulnerability for the disorder. Schizophrenia patients, nonpsychotic relatives, and healthy controls passively viewed images of facial emotions during a functional magnetic resonance imaging scan. Region-of-interest and whole-brain analyses revealed hypoactivation in face processing areas for both schizophrenia patients and unaffected relatives compared to controls, and hyperactivation in relatives for frontal regions involved in emotion processing. Our results suggest that activation abnormalities during facial emotion perception represent genetic vulnerability markers for schizophrenia, and may be accompanied by compensatory mechanisms in relatives.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science (MSc)

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Clinical Psychology

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

Graduate Studies

Year dc:date.issued

2014

Author dc:creator

• Spilka, Michael

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Goghari, Vina

• Psychology--Clinical

Statement dc:rights

• University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.

Language dc:language.iso

eng

DOI

http://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/24738

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:ucalgary.scholaris.ca:11023/1746