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Verbal working memory-related neural network communication in schizophrenia
Thomas Kustermann1, Tzvetan Popov1, Gregory A Miller2
1Department of Psychology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany.
Psychophysiology
|April 21, 2018
Summary
Schizophrenia patients exhibit altered brain network communication during working memory (WM) tasks, showing reduced alpha power and a distinct temporal-posterior information flow compared to healthy individuals.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
- Psychiatry
Background:
- Working memory (WM) deficits are a core feature of schizophrenia.
- These deficits are linked to abnormal brain activity and network connectivity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate disruptions in frontal-parietal networks supporting WM in schizophrenia.
- To identify if other brain networks are involved in schizophrenia-related WM impairments.
Main Methods:
- Dense-array electroencephalography (EEG) was used to record brain activity in 19 schizophrenia patients (SZ) and 19 healthy comparison subjects (HC).
- Participants performed a cued visual-verbal Sternberg task assessing WM load.
- Time-frequency EEG analysis and Granger causality were employed to examine power, load effects, and network connectivity.
Main Results:
- Schizophrenia patients demonstrated slower reaction times and lower accuracy.
- SZ showed reduced overall and load-dependent increases in 11-15 Hz alpha power.
- Network communication in SZ was characterized by unidirectional temporal-to-posterior flow, unlike the bidirectional flow in HC.
Conclusions:
- Schizophrenia involves aberrant WM network activity, specifically altered temporal-posterior communication.
- These neural differences may explain the observed performance variations in WM tasks despite generally slower responses in SZ.
Keywords:
EEG oscillationSternberg taskconnectivityschizophreniatime-frequency analysisworking memoryMore Related Videos
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