Functional magnetic resonance spectroscopy of glutamate in schizophrenia and major depressive disorder: anterior cingulate activity during a color-word Stroop task

Imaging technology has revealed abnormal glutamate signaling in the brains of individuals with schizophrenia. Seeking to clarify the relationship between cognitive functioning and glutamate abnormalities-which are thought to be linked to schizophrenia–a Canadian team led by Reggie Taylor from the Lawson Health Research Institute in Ontario observed glutamate concentrations in the brains of 16 individuals with schizophrenia, 16 individuals with major depressive disorder, and 16 healthy controls while the subjects completed a simple mental task. Compared to healthy controls, individuals with schizophrenia displayed aberrant glutamate signaling in the anterior cingulate cortex, a brain region involved in cognition, and this deterioration was stronger in individuals with schizophrenia than in those with depressive disorder. This result points towards the presence of deficits in cognitive areas of the brain in individuals with schizophrenia.