Assistent professor Section Brain changes in developmental disorders
Department of Psychiatry
email
n.vanveelen@umcutrecht.nltel +31-88 75 58180
ProjectFunctional brain activation patterns in schizophrenia, measured before and after treatment
Supervisors
R.S. Kahn, N.F.Ramsey
SummaryMedication naive patients or patients off medication suffering from schizophrenia will participate. An fMRI will be performed while off medication and after 8 weeks of treatment with an atypical neuroleptic. Findings will be correlated to clinical parameters, outcome and treatment response. The aim is to establish more means to predict treatment outcome.
Inclusion criteria
- Diagnoses of schizophreniform disorder, schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder or psychotic disorder NOS
- Age 16-50 years
- CGI minimally
- Neuroleptic naive or off neuroleptics during at least 2 weeks
Exclusion criteria
- Metal objects in or around body
- Neurologic disease or other somatic disease
- Head injury
- Mental retardation
- Diagnoses if substance dependence according to DSM-IV criteria in the last 3 months
- Pregnancy
- Treatment with antidepressants or moodstabilizers within 3 weeks of inclusion
- For fluoxetine a period of 5 weeks
- Use of other medications that can potentially influence cerebral blood flow at time of inclusion, with the exception of diazepam
- Indication of danger of suicide or homicide