Disrupted Coupling of Heart Rate-Dependent Brain Network Switching and Attentional Task Performance in Schizophrenia...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry
• Cognitive Science

Background:

• Cognitive deficits are a primary symptom of schizophrenia, with unclear neural underpinnings.
• Network switching, altered in schizophrenia, may relate to cognitive performance, potentially modulated by arousal levels.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between network switching, autonomic arousal, and cognitive performance in schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD).
• To determine if arousal moderates the association between network switching and attention in healthy controls (HC) and SSD.

Main Methods:

• Resting-state functional MRI (fMRI) and pulse oximetry data were collected from 39 HC, 27 psychiatric controls (PC), and 39 SSD participants.
• Network switching rates and autonomic arousal indices were analyzed.
• The moderating effect of arousal on the network switching-cognition relationship was tested in HC and SSD.

Main Results:

• No significant group differences in autonomic arousal were found.
• PC showed higher dorsal default mode and anterior salience network switching rates than SSD.
• Autonomic arousal moderated network switching and cognitive performance in HC, but not in SSD.

Conclusions:

• Network switching may serve as a neural biomarker distinguishing PC from SSD.
• Disrupted coupling between arousal and network switching, rather than network switching in isolation, likely contributes to cognitive impairment in SSD.