What will a PET scan most likely show for a patient diagnosed with schizophrenia?

A PET scan can be particularly revealing in understanding the brain activity of individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia. In these patients, studies have shown that there is often decreased frontal lobe activity. The frontal lobes are crucial for functions such as decision-making, impulse control, and social behavior, all of which can be impaired in schizophrenia. This hypoactivity is associated with cognitive deficits and symptoms such as difficulty in concentrating, which are common in the disorder.

In contrast, the temporal lobes, which are involved in auditory processing and are sometimes implicated in the hallucinations experienced by those with schizophrenia, may not exhibit the same pattern of decreased activity as the frontal lobes. Therefore, the PET scan would not typically indicate increased or normal activity in these areas, particularly when examining the overall neurophysiological dysfunction associated with schizophrenia. Thus, the identification of decreased frontal lobe activity is significant in understanding the neurological underpinnings of the disorder.