Abstract:
Background. To date, a large number of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies have been conducted on psychosis. However, little is known about changes in brain functioning in psychotic patients using an emotional auditory paradigm at different stages of the disease.
Such knowledge is important for advancing our understanding of the disorder and thus creating more targeted interventions. This study aimed to investigate whether individuals with first episode psychosis (FEP) and chronic schizophrenia show abnormal brain responses to emotional auditory processing and to compare the responses between FEP and chronic schizophrenia.
Methods. Patients with FEP (n = 31) or chronic schizophrenia (n = 23) and healthy controls (HCs, n = 31) underwent an fMRI scan while presented with both emotional and nonemotional words.
Results. Using HC as a reference, patients with FEP showed decreased right temporal activation, while patients with chronic schizophrenia showed increased bilateral temporal activation. When comparing the patient groups, individuals with FEP showed lower frontal lobe activation.
Conclusion. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study with an emotional auditory pa...