Associations between polygenic risk for schizophrenia and brain function during probabilistic learning in healthy...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry
• Genetics

Background:

• Schizophrenia risk is significantly influenced by additive genetic factors.
• Schizophrenia risk profile scores (RPS) quantify polygenic risk from common variants.
• Previous research links schizophrenia RPS to neural network alterations in working memory and verbal fluency.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of polygenic risk on functional brain networks during probabilistic learning.
• To examine associations between schizophrenia RPS and brain activity (BOLD signals) during decision-making and outcome evaluation.

Main Methods:

• Schizophrenia RPS were calculated for 83 healthy individuals using Psychiatric Genetic Consortium data.
• Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was employed during a probabilistic-learning task.
• Blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signals were analyzed during choice behavior (switch-stay) and outcome reflection (reward-punishment).

Main Results:

• Schizophrenia RPS showed significant associations with altered BOLD activity in the frontal pole and ventral striatum during choice behavior.
• No significant associations were found between schizophrenia RPS and BOLD activity during choice outcome evaluation.
• These findings suggest polygenic risk affects neural circuitry involved in processing changing reward contingencies.

Conclusions:

• Polygenic risk for schizophrenia is associated with alterations in specific brain regions and networks involved in decision-making.
• The findings highlight the role of common genetic variants in shaping neural circuitry relevant to schizophrenia susceptibility.
• Future research should explore how these genetic influences on neural function relate to the development of schizophrenia.