14 DAY TRIAL // A large portion of the interactions we have with others daily is based on nonverbal actions and social cues, two components of communication that the brains of people suffering from schizophrenia cannot compile properly.
A new study has revealed that impairment in an area of the brain responsible for processing such cues affects all schizophrenia patients. Experts say that failure to perceive social interaction correctly, or to interpret a certain situation the right way, are the core deficits of this mental illness.
With the new study, it may be possible to gain a deeper understanding of the origins of delusions that patients oftentimes display. Their perceptions and thought patterns are severely influenced by these delusions, and so this is an important aspect to act on.
Apparently, this deficit schizophrenia patients display can be tracked to a portion of the brain called the posterior superior temporal sulcus (STS), explains Vanderbilt University psychologist Dr. Sohee Park.
In a series of perceptual tests conducted at the university, investigators analyzed participants' behaviors, while at the same time analyzing their neural activity patterns using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI).
Study coauthor Randolph Blake, PhD, who is also based at Vanderbilt, reveals that patients suffering from schizophrenia exhibit abnormal levels of activity in the STS when made to take these tests.
“We found this brain area fails to distinguish genuine biological motion from highly distorted versions of that motion,” the team member goes on to say, quoted by PsychCentral.
“We have found […] that people with schizophrenia tend to ‘see’ living things in randomness and this subjective experience is correlated with an increased activity in the (posterior) STS,” the research team writes in the latest issue of the open-access journal PLoS ONE.
“In the case of biological motion perception, these self-generated, false impressions of meaning can have negative social consequences, in that schizophrenia patients may misconstrue the actions or intentions of other people,” the experts add.
They conclude by admitting that even more research is needed before a clear correlation can be drawn from this study. However, persisting in this direction might ultimately lead to the development of new therapeutic approaches to treating the mental illness.