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Functional Disconnection in Face Detection in Schizophrenia

Dysfunction was found exclusively for right fusiform face area (FFA) in schizophrenia during face detection, a new study found. Researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to characterize resting state functional connectivity between an independent component analysis (ICA)-defined early visual cortical network and a priori defined face-processing regions. Dual regression was used in 20 patients with schizophrenia and 26 healthy controls. Among the findings:

  • Group differences in functional connectivity were found in right FFA only; controls showed significantly stronger functional connectivity to an early visual cortical network.
  • Functional connectivity in right FFA was associated with neural responses during face detection in controls only, and perceptual detection thresholds for faces in patients only.

Citation:

Maher S, Ekstrom T, Ongur D, et al. Functional disconnection between the visual cortex and right fusiform face area in schizophrenia. [Published online ahead of print May 22, 2019]. Schizophr Res. doi: 10.1016/j.schres.2019.05.016.