Since the time of Kraepelin (1896) and Bleuler (1911) nearly every description of schizophrenia cognitive dysfunction highlights impairments in attention, yet the locus of this deficit is not well understood. One model proposes that the locus of schizophrenia attentional dysfunction is due to an abnormality in the memory representations that we activate to control our attention (i.e., selection guidance). Another model proposes that the neural mechanism important for shifting perceptual attention itself is damaged (i.e., input selection). Here, I use visual search tasks, electrophysiological methods, and noninvasive brain stimulation to develop an approach for understanding the processes underlying attention in healthy individuals. Next, I identify a set of neural and behavioral abnormalities related to impaired attention in patients with schizophrenia. Last, I use the noninvasive brain stimulation protocol I developed in healthy individuals to determine whether it is possible to improve attention in patients with schizophrenia. The results demonstrate that 20 minutes of noninvasive stimulation can enhance the transmission of information between memory systems leading to the temporary normalization of attention in schizophrenia. The results support theories of schizophrenia that cast the cognitive impairment as a selection-guidance abnormality, and suggest a new avenue for the development of intervention therapies in the treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VANDERBILT/oai:VANDERBILTETD:etd-03242016-160832 |
| Date | 08 April 2016 |
| Creators | Reinhart, Robert M. G. |
| Contributors | Jeffrey D. Schall, Sohee Park, Geoffrey F. Woodman, Scott Wylie |
| Publisher | VANDERBILT |
| Source Sets | Vanderbilt University Theses |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.library.vanderbilt.edu/available/etd-03242016-160832/ |
| Rights | restricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to Vanderbilt University or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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