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Cognitive deficits, clinical variables, and white matter microstructure in schizophrenia: a multisite harmonization
Johanna Seitz-Holland1,2, Joanne D Wojcik3, Suheyla Cetin-Karayumak4
1Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. jseitz@bwh.harvard.edu.
Molecular Psychiatry
|August 18, 2022
Summary
Schizophrenia significantly impairs cognitive functions, particularly processing speed and memory. White matter integrity is crucial, mediating the link between schizophrenia and these cognitive deficits.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychiatry
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Cognitive deficits are key predictors of functional outcomes in schizophrenia.
- The relationship between cognitive impairments, neuropathology, and clinical symptoms across the schizophrenia lifespan requires further elucidation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize cognitive deficits throughout the schizophrenia lifespan.
- To investigate the association between cognitive deficits, clinical presentation, and white matter (WM) microstructure.
Main Methods:
- Utilized harmonized multi-site data from over 900 individuals, including cognitive, imaging, demographic, and clinical assessments.
- Applied t-tests, correlation analyses, and regression-mediation models to examine WM fractional anisotropy (FA) and its relationship with cognitive domains and clinical factors.
- Employed established harmonization methods for multimodal data integration.
Main Results:
- Individuals with schizophrenia exhibited significant cognitive deficits (p < 0.006), correlated with positive symptoms and medication dosage.
- White matter (WM) microstructure significantly mediated the association between schizophrenia and multiple cognitive domains (language, processing speed, working memory, non-verbal memory).
- Processing speed emerged as a mediator, influencing the impact of diagnosis and WM microstructure on other cognitive functions.
Conclusions:
- Cognitive deficits play a critical role in schizophrenia.
- White matter integrity is fundamental to understanding cognitive deficits in schizophrenia, mediating the relationship between the disorder and cognitive impairments, partly through processing speed.
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