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Published on: September 8, 2021
A splitting brain: Imbalanced neural networks in schizophrenia
Mingli Li1, Wei Deng1, Zongling He1
1The Mental Health Center and the Psychiatric Laboratory, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China; State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
Schizophrenia involves altered brain connectivity. This study found increased connectivity within the default mode network and decreased connectivity in sensory networks in patients, suggesting imbalanced processing of internal and external information.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychiatry
- Radiology
Background:
- Schizophrenia pathophysiology is linked to brain system dysconnectivity.
- Understanding these alterations is crucial for treatment development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whole-brain functional connectivity patterns in first-episode schizophrenia.
- To compare neural network connectivity between patients and healthy controls.
Main Methods:
- Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI) on 121 schizophrenia patients and 103 controls.
- Group independent component analysis (ICA) to identify 90 brain functional components.
- Analysis of functional connectivity between ICA components.
Main Results:
- Identified 29 altered functional connections in schizophrenia patients.
- Increased connectivity observed within the default mode network (DMN) and with cognitive networks.
- Decreased connectivity predominantly found in sensory networks.
Conclusions:
- Altered connectivity patterns suggest imbalanced processing of internal and external information in schizophrenia.
- Findings highlight the role of DMN and sensory network dysregulation in the disorder.
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