Altered functional connectivity in psychotic disorder not otherwise specified

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry
• Brain Imaging

Background:

• Limited research exists on functional connectivity (FC) in psychotic disorder not otherwise specified (PNOS).
• Investigating FC differences between PNOS and schizophrenia (SZ) is crucial for understanding these conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify distinct functional connectivity (FC) patterns that differentiate patients with PNOS from those with schizophrenia (SZ).
• To explore commonalities in brain connectomics between PNOS and SZ compared to healthy controls (HC).

Main Methods:

• Utilized resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) on 49 PNOS patients, 42 SZ patients, and 55 healthy controls (HC).
• Performed region of interest (ROI) to ROI, and intra- and inter-network FC analyses across six functional networks (40 ROIs).
• Examined correlations between altered FC and clinical symptomatology.

Main Results:

• Both PNOS and SZ exhibited thalamo-cortical hyperconnectivity, thalamo-cerebellar hypoconnectivity, and reduced within-thalamic connectivity compared to HC.
• PNOS showed hyperconnectivity between thalamic subregions and the anterior cingulate cortex relative to SZ.
• SZ displayed hyperconnectivity of thalamic subregions with the posterior cingulate cortex and precentral gyrus compared to PNOS.

Conclusions:

• PNOS and SZ share common alterations in neuronal connectivity but also exhibit differentiating patterns.
• The distinct neural connectomics support the hypothesis of PNOS as a separate clinical syndrome.
• Findings highlight the importance of neuroimaging in differentiating psychotic disorders.