0000000000609556
AUTHOR
N. Jon Shah
Epoch versus impulse models in the analysis of parametric fMRI studies
Abstract Objective In parametric fMRI studies the relationship between the amplitude of the hemodynamic response and electrophysiological or behavioral parameters is commonly analyzed using the general linear model (GLM). We examined ways of using single-trial response time (RT) in the analysis of a decision-making task to better isolate task-specific activation. Methods fMRI and RT data were recorded in twenty-one subjects performing a visual-oddball-task. Four explanatory variables (EVs) were generated for the GLM-analysis: A conventional (constant impulse) EV, a constant epoch EV informed using subjects’ average RT, a variable impulse EV and a variable epoch EV both informed using single…
Neural correlates of working memory dysfunction in first-episode schizophrenia patients: an fMRI multi-center study.
Working memory dysfunction is a prominent impairment in patients with schizophrenia. Our aim was to determine cerebral dysfunctions by means of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in a large sample of first-episode schizophrenia patients during a working memory task. 75 first-episode schizophrenia patients and 81 control subjects, recruited within a multi-center study, performed 2- and 0-back tasks while brain activation was measured with fMRI. In order to guarantee comparability between data quality from different scanners, we developed and adopted a standardized, fully automated quality assurance of scanner hard- and software as well as a measure for in vivo data quality. After t…
Nicotine effects on anterior cingulate cortex in schizophrenia and healthy smokers as revealed by EEG-informed fMRI
Abstract Nicotine can have beneficial effects on attention performance and corresponding brain function in both schizophrenia patients and healthy controls, but it remains controversial whether nicotine affects brain function differentially in patients vs. controls. The effects of nicotine on brain activity elicited by attention-requiring oddball-type tasks have not been studied in schizophrenia patients. In this study we sought to investigate the impact of nicotine on the p300 evoked potential component and corresponding fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) activation measures in schizophrenia patients and controls. Applying a double-blind, placebo-controlled cross-over design, the…