PSYC 311 Chapter Notes - Chapter 16.5: Prefrontal Cortex, Ketamine, Grey Matter
9 Jun 2016
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The degeneration began in the parietal lobes and continued rostrally to the temporal lobes, somatosensory and motor cortex and dlpfc: e. g. Another study found reduced cortical grey matter, esp. in the dlpfc, in the schizophrenic member of mz twin pairs. Relationship between positive and negative symptoms: role of the prefrontal cortex. Accumulating evidence suggests that there is a link between the positive symptoms and the negative and cognitive symptoms observed in schizophrenics. Schizophrenia is associate with abnormalities in several parts of the brain, esp. in the pfc. It was first suggested that the negative symptoms were cause primarily by hypofrontality, i. e. decreased activity of the frontal lobes, esp. the dlpfc. Studies have shown that schizophrenics perform poorly on neuropsychological tests sensitive to prefrontal damage: the dlpfc is not activated in schizophrenics vs. controls. Pcp and ketamine can cause positive, negative, and cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia: thus, researchers believe that studying the effects of these drugs will help understand schizophrenia.
