Investigation of the effects of sports therapy on biological motion perception in schizophrenia

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 18K15515
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 52030:Psychiatry-related
• Research Institution: Tokyo Medical and Dental University (2019-2022); Kyoto University (2018)
• Principal Investigator: Matsumoto Yukiko 東京医科歯科大学, 東京医科歯科大学病院, 助教 (80647131)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: 統合失調症 / 認知神経科学

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In a study involving schizophrenia patients and healthy controls engaged in a team sports program, assessments were conducted using biological motion perception tasks, neurocognitive tasks, and social cognitive scales. The results suggested impairments in visual perception and interpersonal cooperation in patients with schizophrenia. Moreover, encoding modeling and natural language analysis were applied to fMRI data during the presentation of natural movies to quantify semantic brain representations, followed by network analysis. The findings revealed a significant reduction in small-worldness of the patients' semantic brain networks, which correlated with the severity of delusions.

Free Research Field

精神医学、認知神経科学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究の知見は、チームスポーツにおける統合失調症患者の対人協調性と認知機能の障害の理解の一助となる。また、本研究で用いた自然動画提示下fMRIデータにエンコーディングモデリングと自然言語解析を適用する手法は、患者の陳述に依らず脳活動から直接主観的体験を評価可能であり、精神科医療における新規診断・治療法開発に寄与することが期待される。