Active Inference, Epistemic Value, and Uncertainty in Conceptual Disorganization in First-Episode Schizophrenia

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry
• Computational Psychiatry

Background:

• Active inference is a growing framework in psychopathology research.
• Conceptual disorganization in schizophrenia is explored through this framework.
• Speech production is viewed as a decision-making process influenced by conceptual organization and uncertainty.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate conceptual disorganization in first-episode schizophrenia using active inference.
• To examine the relationship between conceptual organization, analytic thinking, and the salience network.
• To model speech production as a decision-making process affected by uncertainty.

Main Methods:

• Utilized 1-minute speech samples from a picture description task.
• Employed resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in 30 patients and 30 healthy controls.
• Applied dynamic causal modeling and probabilistic graphical models to analyze effective connectivity within the salience network.

Main Results:

• Low analytic thinking scores indicate low conceptual organization, correlating with diagnostic status.
• Elevated influence of the anterior insula on the anterior cingulate cortex was observed in individuals with low conceptual organization.
• Increased self-inhibition within the anterior cingulate cortex is associated with low conceptual organization.

Conclusions:

• Conceptual organization, a key factor in formal thought disorder, can be modeled within an active inference framework.
• This study links conceptual organization to neural substrates of disrupted language in schizophrenia.
• Findings advance understanding beyond rating scales to deeper constructs in schizophrenia pathophysiology.