Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) for the study of brain mechanisms in schizophrenia (NEVROMENT)

We propose a new Bergen-Oslo collaborative fMRI (and related MR measures, VBM, DTI, MRS) research project on auditory hallucinations and delusions in schizophrenia. We believe that a focus on restricted research questions, with a priori hypotheses and str ict experimental designs has a better potential for scientific breakthrough than the search for the "big" explanation for schizophrenia. Specifically, we propose that hallucinations can be regarded as instances of speech mis-perceptions that originate in the same brain areas as ordinary speech perception, i.e. in the vicinity of the upper posterior part of the left temporal lobe. We predict that auditory hallucinations originate due to abnormal neuronal firing in these areas. We further propose that this can be observed as abnormal fMRI activation, and as grey/white matter abnormalities through VBM/DTI measures, and possibly mediated through glutamate dysfunction at the neuronal level, that can be observed with MRSpectroscopy. With regard to delusions, we propose that due to dysregulation of the subcortical dopamine system, event-independent and context-inappropriate thoughts and associations are reinforced, leading to the formation of delusions. This hypothesis can be tested with fMRI involving a word-pi cture association task, in combination with morphometry/VBM and DTI procedures to evaluate grey and and white matter microstructure. The project will have a strategic impact on neuroimaging research in Norway since it brings together Norwegian top compete nce in fMRI and related MR measures on the one hand, and the leading expertise in psychiatry and mental health research on the other hand, providing a new research constellation in Norway. The joint forces by the Bergen and Oslo groups will have an impact that goes beyond the current state-of-the-art in this field in Norway, since it joins the "spitz" competence in fMRI that the Bergen group has with large well-characterized patient populations at the Oslo site.