Differences of regional homogeneity and cognitive function between psychotic depression and drug-naïve schizophrenia

Psychotic depression (PD) and schizophrenia (SCZ) share overlapping symptoms yet differ in etiology, progression, and treatment approaches. Differentiating these disorders through symptom-based diagnosis is challenging, emphasizing the need for a clearer understanding of their distinct cognitive and neural mechanisms.

This study aims to compare cognitive impairments and brain functional activities in PD and SCZ to pinpoint distinguishing characteristics of each disorder.

We evaluated cognitive function in 42 PD and 30 SCZ patients using the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI). Regional homogeneity (ReHo) values were derived from rs-fMRI data, and group differences in RBANS scores were analyzed. Additionally, Pearson correlation analysis was performed to assess the relationship between cognitive domains and brain functional metrics.

(1) The SCZ group showed significantly lower RBANS scores than the PD group across all cognitive domains, particularly in visuospatial/constructional ability and delayed memory (p < 0.05); (2) The SCZ group exhibited a significantly higher ReHo value in the left precuneus compared to the PD group (p < 0.05); (3) A negative correlation was observed between visuospatial construction, delayed memory scores, and the ReHo value of the left precuneus.

Cognitive impairment is more pronounced in SCZ than in PD, with marked deficits in visuospatial and memory domains. Enhanced left precuneus activity further differentiates SCZ from PD and correlates with cognitive impairments in both disorders, providing neuroimaging-based evidence to aid differential diagnosis and insights into cognitive dysfunction mechanisms, while also paving a clearer path for psychiatric research.