DIMINISHED CEREBRAL METABOLIC RESPONSE TO MOTOR STIMULATION IN SCHIZOPHRENICS - A PET STUDY

Positron emission tomography (PET) and the deoxyglucose method were us ed to measure cerebral metabolism in 14 normals and 13 schizophrenics at rest and during performance of simple and complex finger-movement s equences. The normals, but not the schizophrenics, showed significant metabolic activation in mesial frontal and contralateral sensorimotor and premotor regions during the complex movement. The relative metabol ism of schizophrenics was significantly lower than normal in frontal r egions and higher than normal in thalamus and basal ganglia under all scanning conditions. The results suggest that schizophrenics may have a brain dysfunction which limits their capacity to produce a focal met abolic response to stimulation in several functionally distinct brain regions.