Association between social functioning and prefrontal cortex function during a verbal fluency task in schizophrenia:...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry
• Cognitive Science

Background:

• Impaired social functioning is a core symptom in schizophrenia.
• Executive functions, particularly those mediated by the prefrontal cortex (PFC), are crucial for social cognition.
• Understanding the neural underpinnings of social functioning deficits is vital for developing targeted interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between subjective and objective measures of social functioning in schizophrenia.
• To examine the association between prefrontal cortex (PFC) activity and social functioning in schizophrenia patients.
• To explore potential confounding factors such as psychiatric symptoms and neurocognition.

Main Methods:

• Assessed 23 schizophrenia patients and 22 healthy controls (HC).
• Measured social functioning using the Specific Level of Functioning Assessment (SLOF) for self and caregiver ratings.
• Utilized multi-channel near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) to assess hemodynamic responses during a verbal fluency task (VFT) in frontotemporal regions.

Main Results:

• Significant positive correlations were observed between self- and caregiver-rated social functioning.
• Dorsolateral PFC (DLPFC) and frontopolar cortex (FPC) activation during VFT was significantly associated with social functioning scores.
• Psychiatric symptoms, neurocognition, and cognitive insight were not directly associated with NIRS signals, though general psychopathology showed associations with ventrolateral PFC and anterior temporal cortex activity.

Conclusions:

• Two distinct assessments of social functioning in schizophrenia are significantly correlated.
• Dorsolateral PFC (DLPFC) and frontopolar cortex (FPC) function are strongly linked to social functioning and daily life abilities in schizophrenia patients.