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Impaired Effective Connectivity During a Cerebellar-Mediated Sensorimotor Synchronization Task in Schizophrenia
Alexandra B Moussa-Tooks1, Dae-Jin Kim1, Lisa A Bartolomeo2
1Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN.
Schizophrenia Bulletin
|May 26, 2018
Summary
Schizophrenia involves brain dysconnectivity, particularly in the cerebellum. This study found altered cerebellar connectivity to motor cortex and thalamus during finger tapping in schizophrenia patients, impacting temporal coordination.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychiatry
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Schizophrenia is increasingly viewed as a dysconnectivity syndrome.
- The cerebellum's role in cognitive functions and its connectivity to the cerebrum are areas of active research.
- Understanding cerebellar contributions to sensorimotor coordination deficits in schizophrenia is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the cerebellum's role in sensorimotor synchronization in schizophrenia.
- To examine the effective connectivity between the cerebellum and cerebral regions during a finger-tapping task.
- To elucidate how cerebellar dysconnectivity contributes to motor timing deficits in schizophrenia.
Main Methods:
- Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during tone-paced and self-paced finger tapping.
- Path analysis to assess effective connectivity.
- Behavioral analysis of intertap intervals (ITI) and tapping force.
- Comparison between 31 individuals with schizophrenia and 40 healthy controls.
Main Results:
- Individuals with schizophrenia exhibited greater temporal variability in self-paced tapping.
- fMRI showed cerebellar activation during self-paced continuation but not tone-paced synchronization.
- Effective connectivity analysis revealed decreased cerebellum-motor cortex and increased cerebellum-thalamus connectivity in schizophrenia during self-paced continuation.
Conclusions:
- The cerebellum plays a diminished role in temporally coordinating cerebral motor activity in schizophrenia.
- Altered effective connectivity between the cerebellum, motor cortex, and thalamus contributes to sensorimotor dysconnectivity in schizophrenia.
- Findings support temporal and structural models of dysconnectivity in schizophrenia.
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