Cerebellar Functional Alterations During Executive Functioning Are Associated With General Psychopathology in a...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Psychiatry

Background:

• Growing evidence links the cerebellum to executive functioning (EF) and transdiagnostic psychopathology.
• A general psychopathology factor (p-factor) correlates with EF deficits and posterior cerebellar structural changes.
• A key hypothesis suggests the cerebellum's role in executive dysfunction contributes to general psychopathology.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the hypothesis that cerebellar dysfunction contributes to general psychopathology via executive functioning deficits.
• To examine the relationship between p-factor scores and cerebellar activation during EF tasks.
• To explore the specificity of cerebellar activation patterns related to different psychopathology dimensions.

Main Methods:

• Utilized functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data from 257 adults across diagnostic groups (schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, ADHD) and healthy controls.
• Assessed cerebellar activation during fMRI tasks measuring working memory, cognitive flexibility, and response inhibition.
• Correlated p-factor scores with cerebellar activation and performed specificity analyses for internalizing, externalizing, and thought disorder factors.

Main Results:

• Significant posterior cerebellar activation was observed across all three EF tasks.
• Higher p-factor scores were linked to poorer EF performance and altered cerebellar activation in Crus I/II and lobule VIIIA/B during working memory.
• Increased activation in lobules VI and VIIIA/B was associated with successful response inhibition in individuals with higher p-factor scores.
• Cerebellar activation patterns related to specific psychopathology factors largely overlapped with those related to the p-factor.

Conclusions:

• Identified novel functional alterations in the posterior cerebellum during executive functioning in individuals with high general psychopathology.
• Suggests that increased posterior cerebellar activation may represent a transdiagnostic neural mechanism reflecting inefficient information processing during EF across various mental disorders.