Functional disconnection between the visual cortex and right fusiform face area in schizophrenia

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry
• Cognitive Science

Background:

• Schizophrenia is associated with deficits in facial affect and face detection.
• The neural mechanisms underlying these face-processing impairments in schizophrenia remain unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate resting-state functional connectivity differences between early visual networks and face-processing regions in schizophrenia patients compared to healthy controls.
• To examine the association between functional connectivity and neural responses during face detection.

Main Methods:

• Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and dual regression were used to assess resting-state functional connectivity.
• Connectivity was analyzed between an early visual cortical network and predefined face-processing regions (FFA, OFA, STS, amygdala).
• Associations between connectivity and fMRI responses during a face detection task were investigated.

Main Results:

• Schizophrenia patients showed significantly weaker functional connectivity between the right fusiform face area (FFA) and early visual cortical networks compared to controls.
• This reduced connectivity in the right FFA was associated with altered neural responses during face detection in controls and influenced perceptual detection thresholds in patients.
• No significant group differences were observed in connectivity for other queried face-processing regions.

Conclusions:

• Impaired functional connectivity in the right FFA is a key neural mechanism contributing to face-processing deficits in schizophrenia.
• These findings align with previous research implicating the right FFA in face detection dysfunction in schizophrenia.
• Targeting right FFA connectivity may offer a therapeutic avenue for improving face processing in schizophrenia.