Disrupted Saccadic Corollary Discharge in Schizophrenia.

According to the World Health Organization, acute schizophrenia carries more disability weight than any other disease, but its etiology remains unknown. One promising theory of schizophrenia highlights alterations in a sense of self, in which self-generated thoughts or actions are attributed externally. Disruptions in corollary discharge (CD), motor signals sent to sensory areas that allow for the prediction of impending sensations, are proposed to underlie these symptoms. Direct physiological evidence, however, is limited. In nonhuman primates, inactivation of mediodorsal thalamic neurons disrupts CD associated with eye movements. Using the same task, we show similar impairments in schizophrenia patients, consistent with disrupted CD. These findings allow us to link clinical phenomenology to primate neurophysiology and interpret findings within a biological framework.