Neural correlates of planning performance in patients with schizophrenia - Relationship with apathy

Apathy was related to abnormal activation in thalamus and parietal regions during the ToL task. This supports the hypothesis that impaired function of brain regions involved in planning and goal-directed behavior may underlie apathy in schizophrenia. Moreover, impaired lateral prefrontal activation in schizophrenia patients compared to controls is consistent with the hypofrontality model of schizophrenia. In contrast, stronger medial frontal activation in patients may be related to increased effort to perform a task with conflicting task solutions.