Smoking status as a potential confound in the BOLD response of patients with schizophrenia

Abstract Background Functional magnetic resonance imaging (FMRI) studies comparing schizophrenia patients and controls may have been confounded by the vascular effects of heavier long-term cigarette use in patients. Methods The blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) response to a simple sensorimotor task was compared between schizophrenia patient with a smoking history (mean 17 pack years) and carefully matched patient non-smokers and control non-smokers. Results Group differences in activation magnitude and spatial extent were non-significant. Conclusions Typical smoking histories in schizophrenia patients do not significantly confound FMRI results in simple sensorimotor tasks when patient demographics are carefully controlled.