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Updated: May 23, 2025

Standardized Data Acquisition for Neuromelanin-Sensitive Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Substantia Nigra
Published on: September 8, 2021
Changes in degree centrality and its associated genes: A longitudinal study of patients with schizophrenia undergoing
Linna Zhang1, Chunguo Zhang1, Haohao Yan2
1Department of Psychiatry, The Third People's Hospital of Foshan, Foshan, Guangdong 528000, China.
Background:
The role of degree centrality (DC) in schizophrenia (SCZ), its trajectory following pharmacological treatment, and its potential as a prognostic biomarker and genetic mechanism remain unclear.
Methods:
We recruited 51 healthy controls (HC) and 56 patients with SCZ. Additionally, the SCZ patients underwent three months of antipsychotic medication treatment. We collected resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data, clinical variables, and conducted analyses using support vector machines, support vector regression, and gene expression correlation analysis.
Results:
Our study revealed that SCZ patients had generally reduced DC values in the cerebral cortex compared to HC at baseline, with increased DC values observed in the left occipital gyrus. After three months of treatment, SCZ patients exhibited a significant decrease in DC values in the left fusiform gyrus and an increase in the left inferior parietal gyrus. Variations in DC values in SCZ patients were associated with multiple genes, primarily enriched in molecular functions.
Conclusion:
Changes in DC values in the right inferior occipital/fusiform gyrus and right calcarine/middle occipital gyrus may serve as neuroimaging markers to differentiate between HC and SCZ patients. Additionally, DC values in the left middle/postcentral gyrus could be used to predict treatment outcomes. Transcriptome-neuroimaging spatial correlation analysis provides valuable insights into the neurobiological mechanisms underlying SCZ pathology.
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