Precentral Gyrus Connectivity in Auditory Verbal Hallucinations: A Resting-State Functional MRI Study

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry
• Brain Imaging

Background:

• Schizophrenia is a complex mental disorder.
• Auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH) are a common symptom.
• Understanding the neural basis of AVH is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate functional connectivity (FC) of the precentral gyrus (PCG) in schizophrenia patients with AVH.
• To compare FC patterns between patients and healthy controls (HC).

Main Methods:

• Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used.
• 105 subjects participated: 42 schizophrenia patients with AVH and 63 HC.
• Bilateral PCG FC was analyzed comparatively.

Main Results:

• Increased FC between the right PCG and frontal cortex, SMA, and ACC in patients vs. HC.
• Decreased FC between the right PCG and lingual gyrus/occipital regions in patients.
• Altered FC patterns were observed for the left PCG as well, showing both increased and decreased connectivity in specific brain regions.

Conclusions:

• Schizophrenia patients exhibit lateralized impairments in PCG functional connectivity.
• These FC alterations may contribute to the neurobiology of schizophrenia and hallucination proneness.