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Neuroimaging Studies of Cognitive Function in Schizophrenia

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Reviews on Biomarker Studies in Psychiatric and Neurodegenerative Disorders

Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((PMISB,volume 1118))

Abstract

Persons suffering from schizophrenia present cognitive impairments that have a major functional impact on their lives. Particularly, executive functions and episodic memory are consistently found to be impaired. Neuroimaging allows the investigation of affected areas of the brain associated with these impairments and, moreover, the detection of brain functioning improvements after cognitive remediation interventions. For instance, executive function impairments have been associated with prefrontal cortex volume and thickness; cognitive control impairments are correlated with an increased activation in the anterior cingulate cortex, and episodic memory impairments are linked to hippocampal reduction. Some findings suggest the presence of brain compensatory mechanisms in schizophrenia, e.g. recruiting broader cortical areas to perform identical tasks. Similarly, neuroimaging studies of cognitive remediation in schizophrenia focus differentially on structural, functional and connectivity changes. Cognitive remediation improvements have been reported in two main areas: the prefrontal and thalamic regions. It has been suggested that those changes imply a functional reorganisation of neural networks, and cognitive remediation interventions might have a neuroprotective effect. Future studies should use multimodal neuroimaging procedures and more complex theoretical models to identify, confirm and clarify these and newer outcomes. This chapter highlights neuroimaging findings in anatomical and functional brain correlates of schizophrenia, as well as its application and potential use for identifying brain changes after cognitive remediation.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hospital Clínic Barcelona, IDIBAPS, CIBERSAM, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

    Rafael Penadés

  2. Centre Ressource de Réhabilitation Psychosociale et Remédiation Cognitive, UMR 5229 CNRS, Centre Hospitalier Le Vinatier, University of Lyon, Lyon, France

    Nicolas Franck

  3. Consorci Sanitari del Maresme, Mataró, Spain

    Laura González-Vallespí

  4. Centre Ressource de Réhabilitation Psychosociale et Remédiation Cognitive, Lyon, France

    Marie Dekerle

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  1. Rafael Penadés
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  2. Nicolas Franck
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  3. Laura González-Vallespí
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  4. Marie Dekerle
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rafael Penadés .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biochemistry and Tissue Biology, Institute of Biology, University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, Brazil

    Paul C. Guest

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Penadés, R., Franck, N., González-Vallespí, L., Dekerle, M. (2019). Neuroimaging Studies of Cognitive Function in Schizophrenia. In: Guest, P. (eds) Reviews on Biomarker Studies in Psychiatric and Neurodegenerative Disorders. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology(), vol 1118. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-05542-4_6

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