Neural correlates

• Neural correlates are patterns of structure or activity in the brain that occur with a schizophrenic experience
• Avolition has been associated with one of the main reward centres of the brain, the ventral striatum
• Juckel et al (2006) measured activity levels of the ventral striatum and found lower levels of activity in schizophrenics compared to control groups
• There is a negative correlation between activity levels and severity of avolition
• The ventral striate is a neural correlate of negative symptoms
• Allen et al (2007) found lower activation levels in the superior temporal gyrus and anterior cingulate gyrus of hallucination group
• Reduced activity in the superior temporal gyrus and anterior cingulate gyrus is a neural correlate for auditory hallucinations
• Prefrontal cortex (planning and reasoning) is often impaired- delusions, hallucinations
• Hippocampus impairments are associated with working memory problems- speech poverty, hallucinations
• Grey matter volume (processes sensory perception, decision making, and muscle movement) is reduced in the temporal and frontal lobes- avolition, catatonia
• White matter in the CNS is impaired so causes slower information processing- speech poverty