Left eye scanning deficit in schizophrenia patients under emotional loading task: comparison with healthy controls.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate and characterize visual cognitive function and the effect of emotion in patients with schizophrenia.We recorded exploratory eye movements as biologic markers in 40 schizophrenic patients and 40 age-matched healthy controls. Total eye scanning length (TESL), total number of gaze points (TNGP), and TNGP in right (right TNGP) and left (left TNGP) visual fields on screen were calculated as subjects viewed affectively charged pictures (smiling and crying babies) with fitting sounds.TESL of patients was shorter than that of controls when viewing pictures of smiling babies while recalling pleasurable events, and significantly decreased under negative emotional loading when viewing crying babies while recalling sad events. TESL recovered to the original values after loading positive emotion again in the controls. However, TESL did not recover to the original values in schizophrenic patients. TNGP showed similar alterations in the emotional loading task. When TNGP was evaluated in left and right fields, in patients, the non-recovery of TNGP was only observed in the left side. TESL and left TNGP were negatively correlated with negative symptom scores on PANSS.Schizophrenic patients'eye movements in the left visual field screen during the emotional loading task were different from those of controls, which suggests that visual cognitive function is impaired in the right brain in schizophrenic patients. Exploratory eye movements are a useful marker of visual cognitive function, and are a useful tool to evaluate the influence of emotion in schizophrenic patients.

Characteristics of cortical activation in schizophrenia during the card game "concentration".

Various functional imaging studies have demonstrated reduced lateralization of cortical activation during neurocognitive tasks in schizophrenia. -A well-known card game, "concentration", reflects working memory (WM). We compared characteristics of hemodynamic changes in the prefrontal to temporo-parietal areas of the brain during this card game between 24 outpatients with schizophrenia and 24 age- and gender-matched healthy control subjects. Using multi-channel near-infrared spectroscopy, we measured relative changes in oxygenated hemoglobin concentration (oxy-Hb changes), which reflects brain activity during this task. Patients showed reduced lateralization in the midfrontal area, which is involved in executive functions, and in the inferior parietal area, involved in WM subcomponents. We also found a significant negative correlation between left midfrontal region oxy-Hb changes and severity of negative symptoms of schizophrenia. Our results characterized disease-related features, suggesting the usefulness of oxy-Hb change measurement during this card game for assessing functional outcome in schizophrenic patients.

Effects of emotionally affect adult and baby' photographs in healthy controls and schizophrenic patients evaluating by exploratory eye movements.

The relationship between mother and baby is of fundamental importance in the development of cognitive function and emotion. In this study we investigated the effects of affective photographs of a mother and baby (crying or smiling faces) and other stimuli (neutral mother or baby faces) on visual cognitive function in schizophrenic patents. We recorded exploratory eye movements in 22 healthy controls and 22 age-matched schizophrenic patients. Total number of right and left field gaze points (right TNGP, left TNGP) in the visual fields were determined using an eye-mark recorder as subjects viewed affectively charged or neutral photographs (crying, smiling or neutral faces). Left TNGP for all mother photographs (crying, smiling or neutral) were significantly larger in controls than patients, and right TNGP for neutral mother photographs were significantly larger in controls than in patients. Right TNGP for photographs of smiling babies were significantly larger in controls than patients, and left TNGP for photographs of both smiling and crying babies were significantly larger in controls than patients. Within the patient group, right TNGP were significantly larger than left TNGP for all mother photographs (crying, smiling or neutral). Left TNGP for photographs of mothers and babies correlated negatively with negative symptom scores. These results suggest that exploratory eye movements when viewing emotionally laded twin stimuli such as photographs of a mother and baby are a useful marker of visual cognitive function in both healthy controls and schizophrenic patients.