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Alexander A. Stevens, PhD; Patricia S. Goldman-Rakic, PhD; John C. Gore, PhD; Robert K. Fulbright, MD; Bruce E. Wexler, MD

Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1998;55:1097-1103.

Background  Verbal learning and memory deficits are among the most severe cognitive deficits observed in schizophrenia. We have demonstrated that such deficits do not extend to working memory for tones in a substantial number of patients even when verbal working memory is impaired. In this study we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to study the neural basis of this dissociation of auditory verbal and nonverbal working memory in individuals with schizophrenia.

Methods  While undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging, 12 schizophrenic patients and 12 matched control subjects performed auditory Word Serial Position Task and Tone Serial Position Task.

Results  Both tasks produced activation in frontal cortex and temporal and parietal lobes of the cerebrum in both groups. While robust activation was observed in the left inferior frontal gyrus (areas 6, 44, and 45) in the control group during the Word Serial Position Task, activation in the patient group was much reduced in these areas and failed to show the same task-specific activation as in controls. Reduced activation in patients was not confined to the inferior frontal gyrus, but also extended to a medial area during the Tone Serial Position Task and to premotor and anterior temporal lobe areas during both tasks.

Conclusions  These findings support the hypothesis that abnormalities in cortical hemodynamic response in the inferior frontal gyrus underlie the verbal working memory deficit in schizophrenia. The relationship of verbal working memory deficits to other cognitive functions suggests that abnormal functioning in the speech-related areas may reflect a critical substrate of a broad range of cognitive dysfunctions associated with schizophrenia.

From the Departments of Psychiatry (Drs Stevens, Goldman-Rakic, and Wexler), Neurobiology (Drs Stevens and Goldman-Rakic), and Diagnostic Radiology (Drs Gore and Fulbright), Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Conn. Dr Stevens is now with the Department of Psychiatry, Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland.

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