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Protocol Details

Studies of Frontal Lobe Function During Cognitive Stimulation as Measured with Oxygen-15 Water Positron Emission Tomography in Normal Subjects and Patients with Neuropsychiatric Disorders

This study is NOT currently recruiting participants.

Summary | Eligibility | Citations | Contacts

Summary

Number

90-M-0014

Sponsoring Institute

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

Recruitment Detail

Type: Completed Study; data analyses ongoing
Gender: Male & Female
Min Age: 18
Max Age: 90

Referral Letter Required

No

Population Exclusion(s)

Children

Keywords

Neuropsychology;
Brain Activity;
Cognitive Disorders;
Prefrontal Cortex;
rCBF;
Psychosis;
Neuroimaging;
Brain Scan;
PET Imaging;
Schizophrenia;
Natural History

Recruitment Keyword(s)

None

Condition(s)

Healthy Subjects;
Schizophrenia;
Parkinson Disease

Investigational Drug(s)

Oxygen-15 Water

Investigational Device(s)

None

Intervention(s)

Drug: Oxygen-15 Water

Supporting Site

National Institute of Mental Health

The purpose of this study is to use brain imaging technology to investigate the role of the frontal lobe of the brain in the thinking of individuals with schizophrenia and other neuropsychiatric disorders and healthy volunteers.

Participants in this study will undergo a positron emission tomography (PET) scan of the brain while performing neuropsychological tests. Some of the tests involve cognitive operations that depend upon the frontal cortex. Interactions between frontal lobe activation, cognitive behavior, and neuropharmacology will be assessed by measuring regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) during treatment with drugs that may affect frontal lobe physiology.

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Eligibility

INCLUSION/EXCLUSION CRITERIA:

Participants in this study will reflect the diversity of the community. No one will be excluded or discriminated against on the grounds of race, gender, religion or ethnic background. Every attempt will be made to include women and minorities in the study population. Children will not be studied because of radiation exposure limits on this group.

Normal control subjects will be recruited through the NIH normal volunteer program and through advertisement in the community and primarily through the "Genetic Study" under protocol 95-M-0150. An additional control group of non-schizophrenic siblings of patients with schizophrenia will also be recruited (from the community and protocol 95-M-0150, A Neurobiological Investigation of Patients with Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders and Their Siblings). Control subjects will be matched to the patient groups by age, sex, and handedness. Control subjects with history of psychiatric or neurologic disorders or medical illnesses or surgeries that might have relevance to the investigation of brain physiology will be excluded. Normal subjects taking medications with relevance to cerebral blood flow and metabolism will be excluded from study.

Patients with schizophrenia will be recruited from the inpatient population of the NIMH Wards at the NIH Clinical Center and the sibling study protocol 95-M-0150. Diagnoses will be made by the NIMH clinical staff in accordance with DSM-IV(R). Patients with history of neurological illness other than those of interest to the study, or other medical illness or surgery that might have impact on the study of brain physiology, will be excluded. Inpatients on the NIMH Schizophrenia Ward who have signed protocol 89-MH-160 "Inpatient Evaluation of Neuropsychiatric Patients) will be studied when they have been withdrawn from all medications for two to four weeks. They will also be studied when they are stabilized on medication; however, no treatment decisions, for inpatients or outpatients, will be based upon this study. All inpatients will be carefully monitored on the NIMH/NIH wards as per protocol 89-MH-160.

Additional neuropsychiatric patients (such as those with affective disorder, Parkinson's Disease, special genetic disorders (e.g. William's Syndrome), and other neuropsychiatric disorders) will be recruited from the medical community, from NIH inpatient and outpatient services, and through the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI). Patients will be identified by the presence of typical symptoms and signs elicited by history and examination. Diagnoses will conform to accepted diagnostic guidelines where applicable. Such patients will be excluded from study for 1) history of psychiatric or neurologic disorders other than those under investigation, 2) medical illnesses or surgeries that might have relevance to the investigation of brain physiology, 3) current medications that are not under investigation and that have relevance to cerebral blood flow and metabolism, and 4) IQ less than 70. Outpatients may be admitted overnight if necessary or otherwise applicable (e.g. those from out of town).

No cognitively impaired nonschizophrenic subjects are studied in this protocol. For Parkinsons Disease patients, information is obtained from referring physicians, from NIH medical records for participants already enrolled in the NIH system, and by phone from the potential participant. Further assessment is carried out by a neurologist or psychiatrist upon arrival at the NIH. For Williams syndrome patients, IQ testing is done off-site by a certified clinical neuropsychologist who refers patients for our study and who has followed large numbers of these rare individuals for years.


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Citations:

Regional cortical blood flow in monozygotic twins discordant and concordant for schizophrenia

Modulation of cognition-specific cortical activity by gonadal steroids: A PET study in women

Dextroamphetamine enhances "neural network specific" physiological signals: A PET rCBF study

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Contacts:

Principal Investigator

Referral Contact

For more information:

Karen F. Berman, M.D.
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
NIHBC 10 - CLINICAL CENTER BG RM 3C103A
10 CENTER DR
BETHESDA MD 20892
(301) 496-7603
bermank@mail.nih.gov

Jasmin S. Bettina, Ph.D.
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
NIHBC 10 - CLINICAL CENTER BG RM 3C209
10 CENTER DR
BETHESDA MD 20892
(301) 640-1048
jasmins@mail.nih.gov

Office of Patient Recruitment
National Institutes of Health Clinical Center (CC)
Building 61, 10 Cloister Court
Bethesda, Maryland 20892
Toll Free: 1-800-411-1222
Local Phone: 301-451-4383
TTY: TTY Users Dial 7-1-1
ccopr@nih.gov

Clinical Trials Number:

NCT00001258

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