Violent behavior in schizophrenia is a major public health problem. It is a frequent reason for psychiatric admission and an obstacle to successful reintegration of patients in the community. There is strong evidence that neurocognitive impairments play an important role in this violence. The current application proposes to develop a framework to understand the neurophysiological and neuroanatomical deficits present in violent schizophrenics and compare these to deficits present in non- violent schizophrenics and non-psychotic psychopaths. We will evaluate basic cognitive processes that are involved in the control of violent behavior, including inhibitory control and behavioral monitoring, through the use of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and event-related potentials (ERP) in four different groups (1) violent schizophrenics (VS), (2) non-violent schizophrenics (NVS) (3) violent psychopaths (P) and (4) healthy controls (HC). We expect that: 1. Both P and VS will exhibit an abnormal pattern of activations in a specific neural circuit that is responsible for critical response inhibitory functions, as evidenced by behavioral, ERP and fMRI indices. 2. In the presence of emotionally arousing stimuli, the P and VS will exhibit divergent abnormalities. In the VS such stimuli produce excessive limbic and decreased fronto-temporal activation, while in the P group, such stimuli elicit less limbic and greater fronto-temporal activation. 3. We expect that the VS but not the P will evidence behavioral monitoring problems. NVS's problems will be greater than P and HC. A total of 160 subjects will receive all evaluations: 40 VS, 40 P, 40 NVS and 40 HC. In addition to fMRI's and ERP's, patients will receive a comprehensive evaluation, which will include neuropsychological, neurological and psychiatric evaluations.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01MH074767-03
Application #
7559573
Study Section
Adult Psychopathology and Disorders of Aging Study Section (APDA)
Program Officer
Meinecke, Douglas L
Project Start
2007-01-01
Project End
2011-12-31
Budget Start
2009-01-01
Budget End
2009-12-31
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
2009
Total Cost
$373,433
Indirect Cost
Name
Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research
Department
Type
DUNS #
167204762
City
Orangeburg
State
NY
Country
United States
Zip Code
10962
Krakowski, Menahem I; Czobor, Pal (2017) Proneness to aggression and its inhibition in schizophrenia: Interconnections between personality traits, cognitive function and emotional processing. Schizophr Res 184:82-87
Krakowski, Menahem I; De Sanctis, Pierfilippo; Foxe, John J et al. (2016) Disturbances in Response Inhibition and Emotional Processing as Potential Pathways to Violence in Schizophrenia: A High-Density Event-Related Potential Study. Schizophr Bull 42:963-74
Krakowski, Menahem I; Foxe, John; de Sanctis, Pierfilippo et al. (2015) Aberrant response inhibition and task switching in psychopathic individuals. Psychiatry Res 229:1017-23
Krakowski, Menahem I; Czobor, Pal (2014) Depression and impulsivity as pathways to violence: implications for antiaggressive treatment. Schizophr Bull 40:886-94
De Sanctis, Pierfilippo; Foxe, John J; Czobor, Pal et al. (2013) Early sensory-perceptual processing deficits for affectively valenced inputs are more pronounced in schizophrenia patients with a history of violence than in their non-violent peers. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 8:678-87
Lalor, Edmund C; De Sanctis, Pierfilippo; Krakowski, Menahem I et al. (2012) Visual sensory processing deficits in schizophrenia: is there anything to the magnocellular account? Schizophr Res 139:246-52
Krakowski, Menahem I; Czobor, Pal (2012) Executive function predicts response to antiaggression treatment in schizophrenia: a randomized controlled trial. J Clin Psychiatry 73:74-80
Krakowski, Menahem I; Czobor, Pal (2012) The denial of aggression in violent patients with schizophrenia. Schizophr Res 141:228-33
Krakowski, Menahem; Czobor, Pal (2011) Cholesterol and cognition in schizophrenia: a double-blind study of patients randomized to clozapine, olanzapine and haloperidol. Schizophr Res 130:27-33