Functional network connectivity impairments and core cognitive deficits in schizophrenia
Bhim M Adhikari1, L Elliot Hong1, Hemalatha Sampath1
1Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland.
Human Brain Mapping
|July 18, 2019
Summary
Schizophrenia patients exhibit reduced functional connectivity (FC) in brain networks, impacting processing speed and working memory. These FC deficits correlate with cognitive impairments, highlighting network integrity
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychiatry
- Neuroimaging
Background:
- Cognitive deficits are a core feature of schizophrenia, contributing to functional disability.
- Altered functional brain networks are implicated in the cognitive impairments observed in schizophrenia.
- Understanding the relationship between functional connectivity (FC) and specific cognitive functions is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the integrity of major functional brain networks in schizophrenia patients.
- To assess the role of these networks in supporting processing speed (PS) and working memory (WM).
- To investigate the association between resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) and cognitive deficits.
Main Methods:
- Utilized resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI) data from 261 schizophrenia patients and 327 controls across three cohorts.
- Employed Enhancing NeuroImaging Genetics through Meta Analysis (ENIGMA) rsfMRI pipeline for data analysis.
- Conducted meta- and mega-analyses for patient-control differences in FC and canonical correlation analysis for FC-cognition associations.
Main Results:
- Schizophrenia patients consistently showed deficits in cognitive functions and rsFC across all cohorts.
- Significant patient-control differences in rsFC were observed, with effect sizes ranging from 0.29 to 0.31 (p < 10^-4).
- rsFC measures explained 12-17% of individual variations in PS and WM, particularly within salience, auditory, somatosensory, and default-mode networks.
Conclusions:
- Patients with schizophrenia demonstrate significant reductions in several functional connectivity networks.
- These FC alterations may partially explain the core neurocognitive deficits in processing speed and working memory.
- The vulnerability of specific networks to schizophrenia is strongly associated with the strength of connectivity-cognition relationships.
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