Relationship between performance on the Stroop test and N-acetylaspartate in the medial prefrontal cortex in deficit and nondeficit schizophrenia: preliminary results

Abstract

The aim of this research was to investigate the relationship between performance on the Stroop test and N-acetylaspartate/creatine assessed using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy in the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) of schizophrenia patients. The Schedule for the Deficit Syndrome was used to subdivide the schizophrenia patients into deficit (n=5) and nondeficit (n=17) subtypes. Twenty-one control subjects served as a comparison group. A strong correlation between right-sided N-acetylaspartate/creatine levels and Stroop scores was found in the deficit patients but not in the nondeficit patients and the controls. This result suggests a relationship between a dysfunction of the right medial prefrontal cortex and a deficit in selective attention in schizophrenia patients with the deficit syndrome.