Emotional auditory paradigm in neuroimaging: a base for the study of psychosis.

Introduction: Since the arrival of neuroimaging numerous studies have tried to analyze the differences between emotional and non-emotional response. The majority of these studies use visual approach (faces) and begin with data in normal subjects. The present study introduces a new paradigm for the study of emotional response based on auditory approach and designed specifically for the study of psychoses.

Method: The most frequent words heard by psychotic patients with auditory hallucinations were analyzed. They were classified according to five categories which were compared with 13 other words with the same structure but with a neutral emotional valency. This paradigm was applied to see the cerebral activation with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in 10 right handed healthy males.

Results: In the preliminary analysis a clear differentiation is observed depending on the type of stimulus applied (emotional or non-emotional), both in the intensity of activation (right and left temporal cortex) as in the activation of specific areas (right precentral and supramarginal gyrus) only with the emotional stimulus.

Conclusions: The present paradigm allows the observation of a differentiation in the cerebral activation to emotional auditory stimulus and could be of utility in the study of psychotic patients.