Combined LORETA and fMRI study of recognition of eyes and eye movement in schizophrenia

Schizophrenics and controls participated in functional MRI (fMRI) and event-related potential (ERP) experiments, in which they viewed a face, eyes and moving eyes. Low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography (LORETA) was reconstructed using ERPs. In fRMI, controls exhibited more eminent activations for the face in the fusiform gyrus and superior temporal gyrus bilaterally than did schizophrenics. For eyes, controls exhibited more prominent activations in the left inferior temporal gyrus and fusiform gyrus than did schizophrenics. In controls, moving eyes activated the posterior portion of the superior temporal region and transverse temporal gyrus rightdominantly or the middle and inferior occipital gyrus bilaterally. In contrast, schizophrenics tended to have greater activation in the left amygdala than controls. In LORETA, controls exhibited greater current density for the static face in the right middle temporal gyrus than did patients. In contrast, patients showed greater current density for the static eyes in the left insula. Furthermore, patients showed greater current density for moving eyes to the left in the left insula. Overactivation for eyes or moving eyes in the amygdala, insula, or extrastriate cortex observed in patients might indicate their hypersensitivity in the processing of feature details before processing the gestalt of the face or facial expression as a whole, which might be implicated in their deficits in interpersonal skills or in the formation of a variety of their clinical manifestations. D 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.