Aripiprazole Effects on Reward Processing in Deficit Syndrome Schizophrenia

TITLE: Aripiprazole effects on reward processing in deficit syndrome schizophrenia Principal Investigator: Erica Duncan, M.D.

Background- This is a study of the way people with schizophrenia may feel when they get rewards. Certain parts of the brain play a part in people feeling happy when they win some sort of reward or have a good thing happen to them. Some people with schizophrenia may have trouble feeling pleasure because part of their brains, the frontal cortex, may not work properly. We are doing this study to understand how the frontal cortex works in people with and without schizophrenia when they are trying to win a reward. We will use a special kind of brain scan called Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) to show the brain working in action. fMRI scanning uses a big magnet to take special pictures of the brain.

A new medicine called aripiprazole has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for treating symptoms of schizophrenia. This medicine has a new mechanism of action that helps neural functioning in the part of the brain that is involved with planning and goal setting. We think this new medication may help with brain processing of rewards. We are therefore studying the brain with fMRI scans before and during treatment with this aripiprazole.

Objective- The objective of this study is to determine whether subjects with negative symptoms of schizophrenia have abnormal functioning of brain circuits relevant to reward processing, and to determine whether any such abnormalities are normalized by treatment with aripiprazole.

Research Plan-Aim 1. Define impairments in the neural correlates of reward processing in primary deficit syndrome schizophrenics compared to normal controls.