Connectivity analyses of bioenergetic changes in schizophrenia: Identification of novel treatments

Courtney R. Sullivan; Catharine A. Mielnik; Sinead M. O’Donovan; Adam J. Funk; Eduard Bentea; Erica A.K. DePasquale; Zhexing Wen; Vahram Haroutunian; Pavel Katsel; Amy J. Ramsey; Jarek Meller; Robert E. McCullumsmith

For example, pioglitazone may independently influence associative learning, spatial or working memory, cognitive flexibility, long-term memory, or recognition memory. Pioglitazone is also an FDA approved drug, and further human trials examining pioglitazone, antipsychotic treatment, and a larger number of specific cognitive aspects would be useful. This could be achieved through measures such as the Stroop word-color task (selective attention), n back test and backward digit span tests (working memory), Brown-Peterson test (memory capacity), or Wisconsin card sorting (planning and set-shifting) (125, 130) . Other indices of cognition such as the Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI), the Perceptual Organizational Index (POI), the Working Memory Index (WMI), the Processing Speed Index (PSI), the Immediate Memory Index (IMI) and the General Memory Index are useful in human cognitive battery (125) . In summary, these data suggest that pioglitazone may impact specific elements of cognition in models of schizophrenia.