Project Summary

R. Alison Adcock, M.D., Ph.D. (Young Investigator 2002) of University of California, San Francisco, will seek to identify brain physiology changes associated with the emergence of schizophrenic hallucinations and will try to determine if reversing those changes may alleviate hallucinations, which may occur spontaneously in neural systems in the brain that have decreased numbers of connections between neurons (as opposed to decreased numbers of neurons).  Using EEG, Dr. Adcock will attempt to demonstrate that the auditory cortex is isolated from other brain areas in patients with hallucinations compared to control subjects and that an intensive training of these systems will increase the functional connectivity of the auditory cortex with other brain areas, while decreasing symptoms and improving speed perception task performance.   This study could lead to important new treatments for schizophrenia, while also increasing the understanding of normal cognition.

Program Area: SCHIZOPHRENIA/PSYCHOTIC DISORDERS\Schizophrenia

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