Contact Information
If you think that you might be eligible for this study or for more information, please contact:
Carolyn Bellion 919-966-9988

Information from this study will further our understanding of the changes in brain structure and function that correspond to problems of distractibility and information processing that are present in schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is associated with fundamental deficits in all levels of information processing. The deficit ranges from the processing of visual and auditory signals to the higher level processing such as the meaning and interpretation of information. Our research will examine brain structure and function that corresponds to attention deficits in schizophrenia, using data gathered from behavioral, electrophysiological (EEG), and functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) techniques. EEG and fMRI will be run on patients with schizophrenia and healthy volunteers while performing tasks that test attention and response selection. Differences in brain activation patterns between two groups of volunteers will be used to identify critical brain regions engaged at these levels of attention and response selection. We will enroll 15 patients that are experiencing their first episode (within one year) of schizophrenia and 15 patients with chronic schizophrenia.