Smoking status as a potential confound in the BOLD response of patients with schizophrenia.

The Mind Research Network, Pete & Nancy Domenici Hall, 1101 Yale Blvd. NE, Albuquerque, NM 87131, United States. lleyba@salud.unm.edu

BACKGROUND: Functional magnetic resonance imaging (FMRI) studies comparing schizophrenia patients and controls may have been confounded by the vascular effects of heavier long-term cigarette use in patients. METHODS: The blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) response to a simple sensorimotor task was compared between schizophrenia patient with a smoking history (mean 17 pack years) and carefully matched patient non-smokers and control non-smokers. RESULTS: Group differences in activation magnitude and spatial extent were non-significant. CONCLUSIONS: Typical smoking histories in schizophrenia patients do not significantly confound FMRI results in simple sensorimotor tasks when patient demographics are carefully controlled.

PMID: 18684594 [PubMed - in process]

PMCID: PMC2577169 [Available on 2009/09/01]