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Published on: March 23, 2011
Decreased default mode neural modulation with age in schizophrenia
Christopher C Abbott1, Dae Kim, Scott R Sponheim
1Department of Psychiatry, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, 87131-0001, USA. cabbott@salud.unm.edu
Summary
Schizophrenia patients show altered anterior default mode network modulation with age and illness duration. This suggests neural functions in schizophrenia are dynamic, not static, even in later disease stages.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychiatry
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Patients with schizophrenia exhibit reduced modulation of task-positive and default mode networks during novelty detection.
- This diminished modulation may indicate impaired activation of the task-positive network and reduced deactivation of the default mode network.
- Previous research has not examined how network modulation relates to age in schizophrenia patients with long-standing illness.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between age, duration of illness, and neural network modulation in patients with schizophrenia.
- To assess age-related changes in the default mode network (DMN) and task-positive network (TPN) modulation in schizophrenia.
- To determine if network modulation in schizophrenia is static or dynamic over the course of the illness.
Main Methods:
- Seventeen patients with schizophrenia (illness duration ≥15 years) and 28 healthy controls underwent an auditory oddball discrimination task.
- Independent component analysis (ICA) was used to identify and analyze temporally cohesive neural networks.
- Demographic data, including age and illness duration, were collected and analyzed in relation to network modulation.
Main Results:
- Group membership and the interaction between group and age significantly influenced the modulation of the anterior default mode network (aDMN).
- Illness duration was also significantly associated with the modulation of the aDMN.
- These effects were specific to the aDMN and were not observed in the posterior default mode network.
Conclusions:
- Findings demonstrate age- and illness duration-dependent alterations in the temporal modulation of the anterior default mode network in schizophrenia.
- The observed loss of negative modulation in the aDMN suggests that neural processes in schizophrenia are not fixed and can change over time.
- This highlights the dynamic nature of neural function in schizophrenia, even in later stages of the disease.
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