1
|
Sun Y, Bo Q, Mao Z, Tian Q, Dong F, Li L, Wang C. Different levels of prepulse inhibition among patients with first-episode schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder. J Psychiatry Neurosci 2024; 49:E1-E10. [PMID: 38238035 PMCID: PMC10803101 DOI: 10.1503/jpn.230083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2023] [Revised: 08/10/2023] [Accepted: 09/27/2023] [Indexed: 01/23/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Deficits in prepulse inhibition may be a common feature in first-episode schizophrenia, bipolar disorder (BD) and major depressive disorder (MDD). We sought to explore the levels and viability of prepulse inhibition to differentiate first-episode schizophrenia, BD and MDD in patient populations. METHODS We tested patients with first-episode schizophrenia, BD or MDD and healthy controls using prepulse inhibition paradigms, namely perceived spatial co-location (PSC-PPI) and perceived spatial separation (PSS-PPI). RESULTS We included 53 patients with first-episode schizophrenia, 30 with BD and 25 with MDD, as well as 82 healthy controls. The PSS-PPI indicated that the levels of prepulse inhibition were smallest to largest, respectively, in the first-episode schizophrenia, BD, MDD and control groups. Relative to the healthy controls, the prepulse inhibition deficits in the first-episode schizophrenia group were significant (p < 0.001), but the prepulse inhibitions were similar between patients with BD and healthy controls, and between patients with MDD and healthy controls. The receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that PSS-PPI (area under the curve [AUC] 0.73, p < 0.001) and latency (AUC 0.72, p < 0.001) were significant for differentiating patients with first-episode schizophrenia or BD from healthy controls. LIMITATIONS The demographics of the 4 groups were not ideally matched. We did not perform cognitive assessments. The possible confounding effect of medications on prepulse inhibition could not be eliminated. CONCLUSION The level of prepulse inhibition among patients with first-episode schizophrenia was the lowest, with levels among patients with BD, patients with MDD and healthy controls increasingly higher. The PSS-PPI paradigm was more effective than PSC-PPI to recognize deficits in prepulse inhibition. These results provide a basis for further research on biological indicators that can assist differential diagnoses in psychosis.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yue Sun
- From the National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders and Beijing Key Laboratory of Mental Disorders, and Beijing Institute for Brain Disorders Center of Schizophrenia, Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University (Sun, Bo, Mao, Tian, Dong, Wang); the Advanced Innovation Center for Human Brain Protection, Capital Medical University (Sun, Bo, Mao, Tian, Dong, Wang); the School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences and Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing, China (Li)
| | - Qijing Bo
- From the National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders and Beijing Key Laboratory of Mental Disorders, and Beijing Institute for Brain Disorders Center of Schizophrenia, Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University (Sun, Bo, Mao, Tian, Dong, Wang); the Advanced Innovation Center for Human Brain Protection, Capital Medical University (Sun, Bo, Mao, Tian, Dong, Wang); the School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences and Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing, China (Li)
| | - Zhen Mao
- From the National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders and Beijing Key Laboratory of Mental Disorders, and Beijing Institute for Brain Disorders Center of Schizophrenia, Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University (Sun, Bo, Mao, Tian, Dong, Wang); the Advanced Innovation Center for Human Brain Protection, Capital Medical University (Sun, Bo, Mao, Tian, Dong, Wang); the School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences and Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing, China (Li)
| | - Qing Tian
- From the National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders and Beijing Key Laboratory of Mental Disorders, and Beijing Institute for Brain Disorders Center of Schizophrenia, Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University (Sun, Bo, Mao, Tian, Dong, Wang); the Advanced Innovation Center for Human Brain Protection, Capital Medical University (Sun, Bo, Mao, Tian, Dong, Wang); the School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences and Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing, China (Li)
| | - Fang Dong
- From the National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders and Beijing Key Laboratory of Mental Disorders, and Beijing Institute for Brain Disorders Center of Schizophrenia, Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University (Sun, Bo, Mao, Tian, Dong, Wang); the Advanced Innovation Center for Human Brain Protection, Capital Medical University (Sun, Bo, Mao, Tian, Dong, Wang); the School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences and Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing, China (Li)
| | - Liang Li
- From the National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders and Beijing Key Laboratory of Mental Disorders, and Beijing Institute for Brain Disorders Center of Schizophrenia, Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University (Sun, Bo, Mao, Tian, Dong, Wang); the Advanced Innovation Center for Human Brain Protection, Capital Medical University (Sun, Bo, Mao, Tian, Dong, Wang); the School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences and Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing, China (Li)
| | - Chuanyue Wang
- From the National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders and Beijing Key Laboratory of Mental Disorders, and Beijing Institute for Brain Disorders Center of Schizophrenia, Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University (Sun, Bo, Mao, Tian, Dong, Wang); the Advanced Innovation Center for Human Brain Protection, Capital Medical University (Sun, Bo, Mao, Tian, Dong, Wang); the School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences and Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing, China (Li)
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Ago Y, Van C, Condro MC, Hrncir H, Diep AL, Rajbhandari AK, Fanselow MS, Hashimoto H, MacKenzie-Graham AJ, Waschek JA. Overexpression of VIPR2 in mice results in microencephaly with paradoxical increased white matter volume. Exp Neurol 2023; 362:114339. [PMID: 36717013 DOI: 10.1016/j.expneurol.2023.114339] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2022] [Revised: 01/10/2023] [Accepted: 01/24/2023] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
Large scale studies in populations of European and Han Chinese ancestry found a series of rare gain-of-function microduplications in VIPR2, encoding VPAC2, a receptor that binds vasoactive intestinal peptide and pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide with high affinity, that were associated with an up to 13-fold increased risk for schizophrenia. To address how VPAC2 receptor overactivity might affect brain development, we used a well-characterized Nestin-Cre mouse strain and a knock-in approach to overexpress human VPAC2 in the central nervous system. Mice that overexpressed VPAC2 were found to exhibit a significant reduction in brain weight. Magnetic resonance imaging analysis confirmed a decrease in brain size, a specific reduction in the hippocampus grey matter volume and a paradoxical increase in whole-brain white matter volume. Sex-specific changes in behavior such as impaired prepulse inhibition and contextual fear memory were observed in VPAC2 overexpressing mice. The data indicate that the VPAC2 receptor may play a critical role in brain morphogenesis and suggest that overactive VPAC2 signaling during development plays a mechanistic role in some forms of schizophrenia.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yukio Ago
- Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Laboratory of Molecular Neuropharmacology, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan; Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Hiroshima 734-8553, Japan.
| | - Christina Van
- Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Molecular Biology Interdepartmental Doctoral Program, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Michael C Condro
- Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Haley Hrncir
- Ahmanson-Lovelace Brain Mapping Center, Department of Neurology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Anna L Diep
- Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Abha K Rajbhandari
- Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Department of Psychology, Brain Research Institute, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Staglin Center for Brain and Behavioral Health, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Departments of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Michael S Fanselow
- Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Department of Psychology, Brain Research Institute, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Staglin Center for Brain and Behavioral Health, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Hitoshi Hashimoto
- Laboratory of Molecular Neuropharmacology, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan; Molecular Research Center for Children's Mental Development, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University and University of Fukui, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan; Division of Bioscience, Institute for Datability Science, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan; Open and Transdisciplinary Research Initiatives, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan; Department of Molecular Pharmaceutical Science, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
| | - Allan J MacKenzie-Graham
- Ahmanson-Lovelace Brain Mapping Center, Department of Neurology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - James A Waschek
- Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Receptor-Mediated AKT/PI3K Signalling and Behavioural Alterations in Zebrafish Larvae Reveal Association between Schizophrenia and Opioid Use Disorder. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23094715. [PMID: 35563106 PMCID: PMC9104710 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23094715] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2022] [Revised: 04/08/2022] [Accepted: 04/12/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The link between substance abuse and the development of schizophrenia remains elusive. In this study, we assessed the molecular and behavioural alterations associated with schizophrenia, opioid addiction, and opioid withdrawal using zebrafish as a biological model. Larvae of 2 days post fertilization (dpf) were exposed to domperidone (DMP), a dopamine-D2 dopamine D2 receptor antagonist, and morphine for 3 days and 10 days, respectively. MK801, an N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist, served as a positive control to mimic schizophrenia-like behaviour. The withdrawal syndrome was assessed 5 days after the termination of morphine treatment. The expressions of schizophrenia susceptibility genes, i.e., pi3k, akt1, slc6a4, creb1 and adamts2, in brains were quantified, and the levels of whole-body cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP), serotonin and cortisol were measured. The aggressiveness of larvae was observed using the mirror biting test. After the short-term treatment with DMP and morphine, all studied genes were not differentially expressed. As for the long-term exposure, akt1 was downregulated by DMP and morphine. Downregulation of pi3k and slc6a4 was observed in the morphine-treated larvae, whereas creb1 and adamts2 were upregulated by DMP. The levels of cAMP and cortisol were elevated after 3 days, whereas significant increases were observed in all of the biochemical tests after 10 days. Compared to controls, increased aggression was observed in the DMP-, but not morphine-, treated group. These two groups showed reduction in aggressiveness when drug exposure was prolonged. Both the short- and long-term morphine withdrawal groups showed downregulation in all genes examined except creb1, suggesting dysregulated reward circuitry function. These results suggest that biochemical and behavioural alterations in schizophrenia-like symptoms and opioid dependence could be controlled by common mechanisms.
Collapse
|
4
|
Interference of commissural connections through the genu of the corpus callosum specifically impairs sensorimotor gating. Behav Brain Res 2021; 411:113383. [PMID: 34048871 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2021.113383] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2021] [Revised: 05/19/2021] [Accepted: 05/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
White matter abnormalities in schizophrenic patients are characterized as regional tract-specific. Myelin loss at the genu of the corpus callosum (GCC) is one of the most consistent findings in schizophrenic patients across the different populations. We characterized the axons that pass through the GCC by stereotactically injecting an anterograde axonal tracing viral vector into the forceps minor of the corpus callosum in one hemisphere, and identified the homotopic brain structures that have commissural connections in the two hemispheres of the prefrontal cortex, including the anterior cingulate area, the prelimbic area, the secondary motor area, and the dorsal part of the agranular insular area, along with commissural connections with the primary motor area, caudoputamen, and claustrum. To investigate whether dysmyelination in these commissural connections is critical for the development of schizophrenia symptoms, we generated a mouse model with focal demyelination at the GCC by stereotactically injecting demyelinating agent lysolecithin into this site, and tested these mice in a battery of behavioral tasks that are used to model the schizophrenia-like symptom domains. We found that demyelination at the GCC influenced neither the social interest or mood state, nor the locomotive activity or motor coordination. Nevertheless, it specifically reduced the prepulse inhibition of acoustic startle that is a well-known measure of sensorimotor gating. This study advances our understanding of the pathophysiological contributions of the GCC-specific white matter lesion to the related disease, and demonstrates an indispensable role of interhemispheric communication between the frontal cortices for the top-down regulation of the sensorimotor gating.
Collapse
|
5
|
Brymer KJ, Kulhaway EY, Howland JG, Caruncho HJ, Kalynchuk LE. Altered acoustic startle, prepulse facilitation, and object recognition memory produced by corticosterone withdrawal in male rats. Behav Brain Res 2021; 408:113291. [PMID: 33836169 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2021.113291] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2020] [Revised: 03/19/2021] [Accepted: 04/04/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
The symptoms of human depression often include cognitive deficits. However, cognition is not frequently included in the behavioral assessments conducted in preclinical models of depression. For example, it is well known that repeated corticosterone (CORT) injections in rodents produce depression-like behavior as measured by the forced swim test, sucrose preference test, and tail suspension test, but the cognitive impairments produced by repeated CORT have not been thoroughly examined. The purpose of this experiment was to assess the effect of repeated CORT injections on several versions of object recognition memory and modulation of the acoustic startle response by relatively low intensity prepulses, along with the more traditional assessment of depression-like behavior using the forced swim test. Rats received 21 days of CORT (40 mg/kg) or vehicle injections followed by a battery of behavioral tests. Importantly, during behavioral testing CORT treatment did not occur (CORT withdrawal). Corticosterone decreased body weight, increased immobility in the forced swim test, lowered startle amplitudes, and facilitated responding to trials with a short interval (30 ms) between the prepulse and pulse. Corticosterone also impaired both object location and object-in-place recognition memory, while sparing performance on object recognition memory. Collectively, our data suggest that CORT produces selective disruptions in prepulse facilitation, object location, and object-in-place recognition memory, and that these impairments should be considered as part of the phenotype produced by repeated CORT, and perhaps chronic stress.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kyle J Brymer
- Faculty of Medicine, Division of Biomedical Sciences, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, NL, A1B 3V6, Canada.
| | - Erin Y Kulhaway
- Research Excellence and Innovation, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5A5, Canada
| | - John G Howland
- Department of Anatomy, Physiology, and Pharmacology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5A5, Canada
| | - Hector J Caruncho
- Division of Medical Sciences, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, V8W 2Y2, Canada
| | - Lisa E Kalynchuk
- Division of Medical Sciences, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, V8W 2Y2, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Edemann-Callesen H, Winter C, Hadar R. Using cortical non-invasive neuromodulation as a potential preventive treatment in schizophrenia - A review. Brain Stimul 2021; 14:643-651. [PMID: 33819680 DOI: 10.1016/j.brs.2021.03.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2020] [Revised: 02/11/2021] [Accepted: 03/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Evidence suggests that schizophrenia constitutes a neurodevelopmental disorder, characterized by a gradual emergence of behavioral and neurobiological abnormalities over time. Therefore, applying early interventions to prevent later manifestation of symptoms is appealing. OBJECTIVE This review focuses on the use of cortical neuromodulation in schizophrenia and its potential as a preventive treatment approach. We present clinical and preclinical findings investigating the use of neuromodulation in schizophrenia, including the current research focusing on cortical non-invasive stimulation and its possibility as a future preventive treatment. METHODS We performed a search in Medline (PubMed) in September 2020 using a combination of relevant medical subject headings (MeSH) and text words. The search included human and preclinical trials as well as existing systematic reviews and meta-analysis. There were no restrictions on language or the date of publication. RESULTS Neurodevelopmental animal models may be used to investigate how the disease progresses and thus which brain areas ideally should be targeted at a given time point. Here, abnormalities of the prefrontal cortex have been often identified as an early and persistent impairment in schizophrenia. Currently there is insufficient evidence to either support or refute the use of neuromodulation to the cortex in adult patients with already manifested symptoms. However, preclinical results show that early non-invasive neuromodulation to the prefrontal cortex of adolescent animals, sufficiently prevents later psychosis-relevant abnormalities in adulthood. This points to the promising potential of cortical non-invasive neuromodulation as a preventive treatment when applied early in the course of the disease. CONCLUSION Preclinical translational-oriented findings indicate, that neuromodulation to cortical areas offers the possibility of targeting early neuropathology and through this diminish the progression of a later schizophrenic profile. Further studies are needed to investigate whether such early cortical stimulation may serve as a future preventive treatment in schizophrenia.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Henriette Edemann-Callesen
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité Campus Mitte, Charité -Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Christine Winter
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité Campus Mitte, Charité -Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Ravit Hadar
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité Campus Mitte, Charité -Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Germany.
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Ruiz-Salas JC, De la Casa LG. Induced Positive Affect Reduces the Magnitude of the Startle Response and Prepulse Inhibition. J PSYCHOPHYSIOL 2021. [DOI: 10.1027/0269-8803/a000261] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Abstract. The startle response is a reflex that represents a form of adaptation to environmental changes potentially relevant to survival. Startle magnitude can change depending on a number of factors such as the affective state of the organism during the presentation of the startle-inducing stimulus, or the so-called Prepulse Inhibition (PPI) that occurs when the startling stimulus (or Pulse) is preceded by a low-intensity stimulus (or Prepulse). This paper describes an experiment designed to analyze the impact of an induced positive affect on the magnitude of the startle response and PPI in adult humans. Specifically, each participant received alternating exposures to a picture of a face of a loved person (positive affect condition) or to a picture of a face of an unknown person (control condition) while the startle response and PPI were recorded. The results showed a decrease in both the magnitude of the startle response and percent PPI on the positive affect trials when compared with the control trials. These results are interpreted from psychophysiological and psychological perspectives considering the role of emotions in adaptive behavior.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Juan C. Ruiz-Salas
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Seville University, Sevilla, Spain
| | - Luis G. De la Casa
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Seville University, Sevilla, Spain
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Robust and replicable measurement for prepulse inhibition of the acoustic startle response. Mol Psychiatry 2021; 26:1909-1927. [PMID: 32144356 PMCID: PMC7483293 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-020-0703-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2019] [Revised: 02/18/2020] [Accepted: 02/21/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Measuring animal behavior in the context of experimental manipulation is critical for modeling, and understanding neuropsychiatric disease. Prepulse inhibition of the acoustic startle response (PPI) is a behavioral phenomenon studied extensively for this purpose, but the results of PPI studies are often inconsistent. As a result, the utility of this phenomenon remains uncertain. Here, we deconstruct the phenomenon of PPI and confirm several limitations of the methodology traditionally utilized to describe PPI, including that the underlying startle response has a non-Gaussian distribution, and that the traditional PPI metric changes with different stimuli. We then develop a novel model that reveals PPI to be a combination of the previously appreciated scaling of the startle response, as well as a scaling of sound processing. Using our model, we find no evidence for differences in PPI in a rat model of Fragile-X Syndrome (FXS) compared with wild-type controls. These results in the rat provide a reliable methodology that could be used to clarify inconsistent PPI results in mice and humans. In contrast, we find robust differences between wild-type male and female rats. Our model allows us to understand the nature of these differences, and we find that both the startle-scaling and sound-scaling components of PPI are a function of the baseline startle response. Males and females differ specifically in the startle-scaling, but not the sound-scaling, component of PPI. These findings establish a robust experimental and analytical approach that has the potential to provide a consistent biomarker of brain function.
Collapse
|
9
|
Zhukov DA, Vinogradova EP. Trace Amines and Behavior. NEUROCHEM J+ 2020. [DOI: 10.1134/s1819712420040108] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
|
10
|
Mismatch negativity reveals plasticity in cortical dynamics after 1-hour of auditory training exercises. Int J Psychophysiol 2019; 145:40-47. [PMID: 31176741 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2019.06.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2019] [Revised: 05/30/2019] [Accepted: 06/05/2019] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Impaired sensory processing contributes to deficits in cognitive and psychosocial functioning in individuals with schizophrenia (SZ). Mismatch Negativity (MMN), an event-related potential (ERP) index of sensory discrimination associated with cognitive and psychosocial functioning, is a candidate biomarker of auditory discrimination and thus possibly of changes following auditory-based Targeted Cognitive Training (TCT). Here we evaluated the acute effect of TCT on cortical processes supporting auditory discrimination. METHODS MMN was assessed in 28 SZ outpatients before and after a single 1-hour (hr) session of "Sound Sweeps," a pitch discrimination task that is a component of the TCT suite of exercises. Independent component (IC) analysis was applied to decompose 64-channel scalp-recorded electroencephalogram (EEG) activity into spatiotemporally stationary sources and their activities. ICs from all patients were pooled to find commonalities in their cortical locations. IC cluster-mean ERPs were evaluated to determine the clusters contributing to the (140-200 ms) MMN difference between responses to deviant and standard tone stimuli respectively. RESULTS Two frontal IC clusters centered in orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) accounted for >77% of MMN variance across all scalp channels. After 1-hr auditory training, significant suppression of ACC cluster contributions was detected, whereas the OFC cluster contribution was unchanged. CONCLUSIONS Prior to TCT, the MMN response was dominated by EEG effective sources in or near OFC and ACC. However, after 1-hr of auditory-based TCT, a significant attenuation of ACC was observed, whereas OFC contribution to MMN persisted. The present findings support further trials designed to test whether training-related MMN plasticity in the ACC after 1-hr may predict individual patient response to a full course of TCT.
Collapse
|
11
|
Young spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) display prodromal schizophrenia-like behavioral abnormalities. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2019; 90:169-176. [PMID: 30500412 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2018.11.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2018] [Revised: 10/05/2018] [Accepted: 11/24/2018] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
The Spontaneously Hypertensive Rat (SHR) strain has been suggested as an animal model of schizophrenia, considering that adult SHRs display behavioral abnormalities that mimic the cognitive, psychotic and negative symptoms of the disease and are characteristic of its animal models. SHRs display: (I) deficits in fear conditioning and latent inhibition (modeling cognitive impairments), (II) deficit in prepulse inhibition of startle reflex (reflecting a deficit in sensorimotor gating, and associated with psychotic symptoms), (III) diminished social behavior (modeling negative symptoms) and (IV) hyperlocomotion (modeling the hyperactivity of the dopaminergic mesolimbic system/ psychotic symptoms). These behavioral abnormalities are reversed specifically by the administration of antipsychotic drugs. Here, we performed a behavioral characterization of young (27-50 days old) SHRs in order to investigate potential early behavioral abnormalities resembling the prodromal phase of schizophrenia. When compared to Wistar rats, young SHRs did not display hyperlocomotion or PPI deficit, but exhibited diminished social interaction and impaired fear conditioning and latent inhibition. These findings are in accordance with the clinical course of schizophrenia: manifestation of social and cognitive impairments and absence of full-blown psychotic symptoms in the prodromal phase. The present data reinforce the SHR strain as a model of schizophrenia, expanding its validity to the prodromal phase of the disorder.
Collapse
|
12
|
Hochberger WC, Joshi YB, Thomas ML, Zhang W, Bismark AW, Treichler EBH, Tarasenko M, Nungaray J, Sprock J, Cardoso L, Swerdlow N, Light GA. Neurophysiologic measures of target engagement predict response to auditory-based cognitive training in treatment refractory schizophrenia. Neuropsychopharmacology 2019; 44:606-612. [PMID: 30377381 PMCID: PMC6333927 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-018-0256-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2018] [Accepted: 10/01/2018] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
Cognitive impairment is a core feature of schizophrenia and a strong predictor of psychosocial disability. Auditory-based targeted cognitive training (TCT) aims to enhance verbal learning and other domains of cognitive functioning through "bottom-up" tuning of the neural systems underlying early auditory information processing (EAIP). Although TCT has demonstrated efficacy at the group level, individual response to TCT varies considerably, with nearly half of patients showing little-to-no benefit. EEG measures of EAIP, mismatch negativity (MMN) and P3a, are sensitive to the neural systems engaged by TCT exercises and might therefore predict clinical outcomes after a full course of treatment. This study aimed to determine whether initial malleability of MMN and P3a to 1-h of auditory-based TCT predicts improvements in verbal learning and clinical symptom reduction following a full (30-h) course of TCT. Treatment refractory patients diagnosed with schizophrenia were randomly assigned to receive treatment-as-usual (TAU; n = 22) or TAU augmented with TCT (n = 23). Results indicated that malleability (i.e., change from baseline after the initial 1-h dose of TCT) of MMN and P3a predicted improvements in verbal learning as well as decreases in the severity of positive symptoms. Examination of MMN and P3a malleability in patients after their first dose of TCT can be used to predict clinical response to a full course of treatment and shows promise for future biomarker-informed treatment assignment.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- William C Hochberger
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
- VISN-22 Mental Illness, Research, Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC), VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Yash B Joshi
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
- VISN-22 Mental Illness, Research, Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC), VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Michael L Thomas
- Department of Psychology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Wendy Zhang
- San Diego State University/University of California, San Diego (SDSU/UCSD) Joint Doctoral Program (JDP) in Clinical Psychology, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Andrew W Bismark
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
- VISN-22 Mental Illness, Research, Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC), VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Emily B H Treichler
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
- VISN-22 Mental Illness, Research, Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC), VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Melissa Tarasenko
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
- VISN-22 Mental Illness, Research, Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC), VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - John Nungaray
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Joyce Sprock
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
- VISN-22 Mental Illness, Research, Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC), VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Lauren Cardoso
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
- Alpine Special Treatment Center Inc., Alpine, CA, USA
| | - Neal Swerdlow
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Gregory A Light
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
- VISN-22 Mental Illness, Research, Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC), VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA, USA.
- San Diego State University/University of California, San Diego (SDSU/UCSD) Joint Doctoral Program (JDP) in Clinical Psychology, San Diego, CA, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
|
14
|
Takahashi H, Kamio Y. Acoustic startle response and its modulation in schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorder in Asian subjects. Schizophr Res 2018; 198:16-20. [PMID: 28578923 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2017.05.034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2017] [Revised: 05/23/2017] [Accepted: 05/26/2017] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
The acoustic startle response (ASR) and its modulation, including prepulse inhibition (PPI), are considered to be promising neurophysiological indices for translational research in psychiatry. Impairment of the PPI has been reported in several psychiatric disorders, but particularly in schizophrenia, where PPI is considered to be a candidate endophenotype of the disorder. Although the profiles of the ASR differ between races, recent studies of single ethnicity samples in Asia were in accord with a number of studies from Western countries, in reporting that patients with schizophrenia exhibit impaired PPI. The PPI of the ASR is known to develop before 8years of age, and PPI impairment has only been reported in adults (not children) with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), which involves atypical features that are present from early development. Recent Asian studies of children with ASD suggest that comprehensive investigation of the ASR and its modulation, including the startle response to weak startle stimuli, peak startle latency, and PPI, may contribute to an understanding of the impairment of the neural circuitry in children with ASD and its comorbid behavioral problems. In this review, we review recent findings on the ASR and its modulation from Asian countries, and discuss its potential use for studying sensorimotor gating and its relationship to schizophrenia and ASD. In conclusion, the ASR and its modulation can provide a well-established global neurophysiological index for translational research in psychiatric disorders. Future studies investigating the development of sensorimotor gating in early development may contribute to prevention of psychiatric disorders.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Hidetoshi Takahashi
- Department of Child and Adolescent Mental Health, National Institute of Mental Health, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, 4-1-1 Ogawahigashicho, Kodaira, Tokyo 187-8553, Japan; Department of Advanced Neuroimaging, Integrative Brain Imaging Center, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, 4-1-1 Ogawahigashicho, Kodaira, Tokyo 187-8551, Japan.
| | - Yoko Kamio
- Department of Child and Adolescent Mental Health, National Institute of Mental Health, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, 4-1-1 Ogawahigashicho, Kodaira, Tokyo 187-8553, Japan.
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
Single-Dose Memantine Improves Cortical Oscillatory Response Dynamics in Patients with Schizophrenia. Neuropsychopharmacology 2017; 42:2633-2639. [PMID: 28425497 PMCID: PMC5686499 DOI: 10.1038/npp.2017.81] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2017] [Revised: 04/10/2017] [Accepted: 04/11/2017] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
Aberrant gamma-band (30-80 Hz) oscillations may underlie cognitive deficits in schizophrenia (SZ). Gamma oscillations and their regulation by NMDA receptors can be studied via their evoked power (γEP) and phase locking (γPL) in response to auditory steady-state stimulation; these auditory steady-state responses (ASSRs) may be biomarkers for target engagement and early therapeutic effects. We previously reported that memantine, an NMDA receptor antagonist, enhanced two biomarkers of early auditory information processing: prepulse inhibition and mismatch negativity (MMN) in SZ patients and healthy subjects (HS). Here, we describe memantine effects on γEP and γPL in those subjects. SZ patients (n=18) and HS (n=14) received memantine 20 mg (p.o.) and placebo over 2 test days in a double-blind, randomized, counterbalanced, cross-over design. The ASSR paradigm (1 ms, 85 dB clicks in 250-0.5 s trains at a frequency of 40 Hz; 0.5 s inter-train interval) was used to assess γEP and γPL. SZ patients had reduced γEP and γPL; memantine enhanced γEP and γPL (p<0.025 and 0.002, respectively) in both SZ and HS. In patients, significant correlations between age and memantine effects were detected for γEP and γPL: greater memantine sensitivity on γEP and γPL were present in younger SZ patients, similar to our reported findings with MMN. Memantine acutely normalized cortical oscillatory dynamics associated with NMDA receptor dysfunction in SZ patients. Ongoing studies will clarify whether these acute changes predict beneficial clinical, neurocognitive and functional outcomes. These data support the use of gamma-band ASSR as a translational end point in pro-cognitive drug discovery and early-phase clinical trials.
Collapse
|
16
|
Perez VB, Tarasenko M, Miyakoshi M, Pianka ST, Makeig SD, Braff DL, Swerdlow NR, Light GA. Mismatch Negativity is a Sensitive and Predictive Biomarker of Perceptual Learning During Auditory Cognitive Training in Schizophrenia. Neuropsychopharmacology 2017; 42:2206-2213. [PMID: 28139679 PMCID: PMC5603809 DOI: 10.1038/npp.2017.25] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2016] [Revised: 01/12/2017] [Accepted: 01/16/2017] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Computerized cognitive training is gaining empirical support for use in the treatment of schizophrenia (SZ). Although cognitive training is efficacious for SZ at a group level when delivered in sufficiently intensive doses (eg, 30-50 h), there is variability in individual patient response. The identification of biomarkers sensitive to the neural systems engaged by cognitive training interventions early in the course of treatment could facilitate personalized assignment to treatment. This proof-of-concept study was conducted to determine whether mismatch negativity (MMN), an event-related potential index of auditory sensory discrimination associated with cognitive and psychosocial functioning, would predict gains in auditory perceptual learning and exhibit malleability after initial exposure to the early stages of auditory cognitive training in SZ. MMN was assessed in N=28 SZ patients immediately before and after completing 1 h of a speeded time-order judgment task of two successive frequency-modulated sweeps (Posit Science 'Sound Sweeps' exercise). All SZ patients exhibited the expected improvements in auditory perceptual learning over the 1 h training period (p<0.001), consistent with previous results. Larger MMN amplitudes recorded both before and after the training exercises were associated with greater gains in auditory perceptual learning (r=-0.5 and r=-0.67, respectively, p's<0.01). Significant pretraining vs posttraining MMN amplitude reduction was also observed (p<0.02). MMN is a sensitive index of the neural systems engaged in a single session of auditory cognitive training in SZ. These findings encourage future trials of MMN as a biomarker for individual assignment, prediction, and/or monitoring of patient response to procognitive interventions, including auditory cognitive training in SZ.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Veronica B Perez
- VISN 22 Mental Illness Research, Education & Clinical Center (MIRECC), San Diego VA Healthcare System, San Diego, CA, USA,Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA,California School of Professional Psychology, Alliant International University, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Melissa Tarasenko
- VISN 22 Mental Illness Research, Education & Clinical Center (MIRECC), San Diego VA Healthcare System, San Diego, CA, USA,Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Makoto Miyakoshi
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Sean T Pianka
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Scott D Makeig
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - David L Braff
- VISN 22 Mental Illness Research, Education & Clinical Center (MIRECC), San Diego VA Healthcare System, San Diego, CA, USA,Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Neal R Swerdlow
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Gregory A Light
- VISN 22 Mental Illness Research, Education & Clinical Center (MIRECC), San Diego VA Healthcare System, San Diego, CA, USA,Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA,Psychiatry Service 116A, VISN-22 Mental Illness Research, Education & Clinical Center (MIRECC), San Diego VA Healthcare System, University of California, 3350 La Jolla Village Drive, San Diego, CA 92161, USA, Tel: +1 619 543 2496, Fax: + 619 543 1801, E-mail:
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
Effects of transcranial direct current stimulation on the auditory mismatch negativity response and working memory performance in schizophrenia: a pilot study. J Neural Transm (Vienna) 2017; 124:1489-1501. [PMID: 28864916 DOI: 10.1007/s00702-017-1783-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2017] [Accepted: 08/21/2017] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Cognitive impairment has been proposed to be the core feature of schizophrenia (Sz). Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a non-invasive form of brain stimulation which can improve cognitive function in healthy participants and in psychiatric patients with cognitive deficits. tDCS has been shown to improve cognition and hallucination symptoms in Sz, a disorder also associated with marked sensory processing deficits. Recent findings in healthy controls demonstrate that anodal tDCS increases auditory deviance detection, as measured by the brain-based event-related potential, mismatch negativity (MMN), which is a putative biomarker of Sz that has been proposed as a target for treatment of Sz cognition. This pilot study conducted a randomized, double-blind assessment of the effects of pre- and post-tDCS on MMN-indexed auditory discrimination in 12 Sz patients, moderated by auditory hallucination (AH) presence, as well as working memory performance. Assessments were conducted in three sessions involving temporal and frontal lobe anodal stimulation (to transiently excite local brain activity), and one control session involving 'sham' stimulation (meaning with the device turned off, i.e., no stimulation). Results demonstrated a trend for pitch MMN amplitude to increase with anodal temporal tDCS, which was significant in a subgroup of Sz individuals with AHs. Anodal frontal tDCS significantly increased WM performance on the 2-back task, which was found to positively correlate with MMN-tDCS effects. The findings contribute to our understanding of tDCS effects for sensory processing deficits and working memory performance in Sz and may have implications for psychiatric disorders with sensory deficits.
Collapse
|
18
|
Swerdlow NR, Tarasenko M, Bhakta SG, Talledo J, Alvarez AI, Hughes EL, Rana B, Vinogradov S, Light GA. Amphetamine Enhances Gains in Auditory Discrimination Training in Adult Schizophrenia Patients. Schizophr Bull 2017; 43:872-880. [PMID: 27798224 PMCID: PMC5472129 DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbw148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Targeted cognitive training (TCT) of auditory processing enhances higher-order cognition in schizophrenia patients. TCT performance gains can be detected after 1 training session. As a prelude to a potential clinical trial, we assessed a pharmacological augmentation of cognitive therapy (PACT) strategy by testing if the psychostimulant, amphetamine, augments TCT gains in auditory processing speed (APS) in schizophrenia patients and healthy subjects (HS). HS and schizophrenia patients were tested in a screening session (test 1), followed by a double-blind crossover design (tests 2-3), comparing placebo vs amphetamine (10 mg; 7 d between tests). On each test day, 1 hour of Posit Science "Sound Sweeps" training was bracketed by 2- to 4-minute pre- and post-training assessments of APS. Training consisted of a speeded auditory time-order judgment task of successive frequency modulation sweeps. Auditory system "learning" (APS post- vs pre-training) was enhanced by amphetamine (main effect of drug: P < .002; patients: d = 0.56, P < .02; HS: d = 0.39, nonsignificant), and this learning was sustained for at least 1 week. Exploratory analyses assessed potential biomarker predictors of sensitivity to these effects of amphetamine. Amphetamine enhances auditory discrimination learning in schizophrenia patients. We do not know whether gains in APS observed in patients after 1 hour of TCT predict clinical benefits after a full course of TCT. If amphetamine can enhance the therapeutic effects of TCT, this would provide strong support for a "PACT" treatment paradigm for schizophrenia.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Neal R. Swerdlow
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA
| | - Melissa Tarasenko
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA;,VISN-22 Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center (MIRECC), VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA
| | - Savita G. Bhakta
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA
| | - Jo Talledo
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA
| | - Alexis I. Alvarez
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA
| | - Erica L. Hughes
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA
| | - Brinda Rana
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA
| | | | - Gregory A. Light
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA;,VISN-22 Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center (MIRECC), VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA
| |
Collapse
|
19
|
Mena A, Ruiz-Salas JC, Puentes A, Dorado I, Ruiz-Veguilla M, De la Casa LG. Reduced Prepulse Inhibition as a Biomarker of Schizophrenia. Front Behav Neurosci 2016; 10:202. [PMID: 27803654 PMCID: PMC5067522 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2016.00202] [Citation(s) in RCA: 135] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2016] [Accepted: 10/04/2016] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
The startle response is composed by a set of reflex behaviors intended to prepare the organism to face a potentially relevant stimulus. This response can be modulated by several factors as, for example, repeated presentations of the stimulus (startle habituation), or by previous presentation of a weak stimulus (Prepulse Inhibition [PPI]). Both phenomena appear disrupted in schizophrenia that is thought to reflect an alteration in dopaminergic and glutamatergic neurotransmission. In this paper we analyze whether the reported deficits are indicating a transient effect restricted to the acute phase of the disease, or if it reflects a more general biomarker or endophenotype of the disorder. To this end, we measured startle responses in the same set of thirteen schizophrenia patients with a cross-sectional design at two periods: 5 days after hospital admission and 3 months after discharge. The results showed that both startle habituation and PPI were impaired in the schizophrenia patients at the acute stage as compared to a control group composed by 13 healthy participants, and that PPI but not startle habituation remained disrupted when registered 3 months after the discharge. These data point to the consideration of PPI, but not startle habituation, as a schizophrenia biomarker.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Auxiliadora Mena
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Seville Seville, Spain
| | - Juan C Ruiz-Salas
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Seville Seville, Spain
| | - Andrea Puentes
- Neurosciences Institute, El Bosque University Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Inmaculada Dorado
- Institute of Biomedicine, University Hospital Virgen del Rocío Seville, Spain
| | | | - Luis G De la Casa
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Seville Seville, Spain
| |
Collapse
|
20
|
Abstract
Neuroscience and schizophrenia are densely entangled and mutually supporting, such that a critical evaluation of schizophrenia is, effectively, an evaluation of applied aspects of contemporary neuroscience. A critical historical account of the development of schizophrenia is therefore followed by an overview of current issues and debates. A summary of possible future research directions then identifies a range of extant research strategies which already undercut or exceed this diagnosis. It is concluded that the example of schizophrenia functions more generally to illustrate how neuroscience need not rely upon poorly supported psychiatric concepts of mental illness.
Collapse
|
21
|
Sánchez-Morla EM, Mateo J, Aparicio A, García-Jiménez MÁ, Jiménez E, Santos JL. Prepulse inhibition in euthymic bipolar disorder patients in comparison with control subjects. Acta Psychiatr Scand 2016; 134:350-9. [PMID: 27294331 DOI: 10.1111/acps.12604] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/23/2016] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Deficient prepulse inhibition (PPI) of the startle response, indicating sensorimotor gating deficits, has been reported in schizophrenia and other neuropsychiatric disorders. This study aimed to assess sensorimotor gating deficits in patients with euthymic bipolar. Furthermore, we analysed the relationships between PPI and clinical and cognitive measures. METHOD Prepulse inhibition was measured in 64 patients with euthymic bipolar and in 64 control subjects matched for age, gender, education level and smoking status. Clinical characteristics and level of functioning were assessed in all participants using Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS), Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS) and Functioning Assessment Short Test (FAST). Cognition was evaluated using the Measurement and Treatment Research to Improve Cognition in Schizophrenia Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB) and the Stroop test as an additional measure of executive function. RESULTS Compared with controls, patients with bipolar disorder exhibited PPI deficits at 60- and 120-millisecond prepulse-pulse intervals. Among patients with bipolar disorder, PPI was correlated with the social cognition domain of the MCCB. PPI was not significantly correlated with other clinical, functional and neurocognitive variables in either group. CONCLUSIONS Our data suggest that PPI deficit is a neurobiological marker in euthymic bipolar disorder, which is associated with social cognition but not with other clinical, functional or cognitive measures.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- E M Sánchez-Morla
- Department of Psychiatry, Hospital Virgen de la Luz, Cuenca, Spain. .,Department of Psychiatry, Hospital Universitario de Guadalajara, Guadalajara, Spain. .,Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Alcalá, Madrid, Spain.
| | - J Mateo
- Innovation in Bioengineering Research Group, University of Castilla La Mancha, Cuenca, Spain
| | - A Aparicio
- Department of Psychiatry, Hospital Virgen de la Luz, Cuenca, Spain
| | | | - E Jiménez
- Department of Psychiatry, Hospital Virgen de la Luz, Cuenca, Spain
| | - J L Santos
- Department of Psychiatry, Hospital Virgen de la Luz, Cuenca, Spain
| |
Collapse
|
22
|
Measuring the capacity for auditory system plasticity: An examination of performance gains during initial exposure to auditory-targeted cognitive training in schizophrenia. Schizophr Res 2016; 172:123-30. [PMID: 26851143 PMCID: PMC5072522 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2016.01.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2015] [Revised: 01/07/2016] [Accepted: 01/10/2016] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
UNLABELLED Auditory-Targeted Cognitive Training (ATCT), which aims to improve auditory information processing efficiency, has shown great promise for remediating cognitive deficits in schizophrenia (SZ). However, there is substantial heterogeneity in the degree of cognitive gains made during ATCT, and some patients show negligible benefit after completing therapeutic doses of training. Identifying individual differences that can be measured early in the course of ATCT and that predict subsequent cognitive benefits from the intervention is therefore important. The present study calculated a variety of performance metrics during the initial hour of exposure to ATCT Sound Sweeps, a frequency discrimination time-order judgment task, and investigated the relationships of these metrics to demographic, clinical, and cognitive characteristics of SZ patients. Thirty-seven SZ outpatients completed measures of auditory attention, working memory, verbal memory, and executive functioning, followed by 1h of Sound Sweeps training. Performance metrics, calculated after the first training level, the first training stage (Levels 1-4), and the entire hour of training included baseline and best auditory processing speed (APS) scores, as well as percent improvement in APS after training. The number of training levels completed by each participant was also calculated. Baseline and best APS correlated with performance in all cognitive domains, whereas APS improvements only correlated with verbal memory. Number of training levels completed was marginally associated with auditory attention only. CONCLUSIONS Sound Sweeps performance correlates with a range of neurocognitive abilities. APS improvement may provide a particularly sensitive index of "plasticity potential" within the neural network underlying verbal learning and memory.
Collapse
|
23
|
Archer T, Kostrzewa RM. Physical Exercise Alleviates Health Defects, Symptoms, and Biomarkers in Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorder. Neurotox Res 2015; 28:268-80. [PMID: 26174041 DOI: 10.1007/s12640-015-9543-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2015] [Revised: 06/08/2015] [Accepted: 07/06/2015] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Schizophrenia spectrum disorders are characterized by symptom profiles consisting of positive and negative symptoms, cognitive impairment, and a plethora of genetic, epigenetic, and phenotypic biomarkers. Assorted animal models of these disorders and clinical neurodevelopmental indicators have implicated neurodegeneration as an element in the underlying pathophysiology. Physical exercise or activity regimes--whether aerobic, resistance, or endurance--ameliorate regional brain and functional deficits not only in affected individuals but also in animal models of the disorder. Cognitive deficits, often linked to regional deficits, were alleviated by exercise, as were quality-of-life, independent of disorder staging and risk level. Apoptotic processes intricate to the etiopathogenesis of schizophrenia were likewise attenuated by physical exercise. There is also evidence of manifest benefits endowed by physical exercise in preserving telomere length and integrity. Not least, exercise improves overall health and quality-of-life. The notion of scaffolding as the outcome of physical exercise implies the "buttressing" of regional network circuits, neurocognitive domains, anti-inflammatory defenses, maintenance of telomeric integrity, and neuro-reparative and regenerative processes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Trevor Archer
- Department of Psychology, University of Gothenburg, 405 30, Gothenburg, Sweden,
| | | |
Collapse
|
24
|
Light GA, Swerdlow NR. Future clinical uses of neurophysiological biomarkers to predict and monitor treatment response for schizophrenia. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2015. [PMID: 25752648 DOI: 10.llll/nyas.12730] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Advances in psychiatric neuroscience have transformed our understanding of impaired and spared brain functions in psychotic illnesses. Despite substantial progress, few (if any) laboratory tests have graduated to clinics to inform diagnoses, guide treatments, and monitor treatment response. Providers must rely on careful behavioral observation and interview techniques to make inferences about patients' inner experiences and then secondary deductions about impacted neural systems. Development of more effective treatments has also been hindered by a lack of translational quantitative biomarkers that can span the brain-behavior treatment knowledge gap. Here, we describe an example of a simple, low-cost, and translatable electroencephalography (EEG) measure that offers promise for improving our understanding and treatment of psychotic illnesses: mismatch negativity (MMN). MMN is sensitive to and/or predicts response to some pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic interventions and accounts for substantial portions of variance in clinical, cognitive, and psychosocial functioning in schizophrenia (SZ). This measure has recently been validated for use in large-scale multisite clinical studies of SZ. Finally, MMN greatly improves our ability to forecast which individuals at high clinical risk actually develop a psychotic illness. These attributes suggest that MMN can contribute to personalized biomarker-guided treatment strategies aimed at ameliorating or even preventing the onset of psychosis.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Gregory A Light
- VISN 22 Mental Illness, Research, Education, and Clinical Center (MIRECC), VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, California; Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California
| | | |
Collapse
|
25
|
Light GA, Swerdlow NR, Thomas ML, Calkins ME, Green MF, Greenwood TA, Gur RE, Gur RC, Lazzeroni LC, Nuechterlein KH, Pela M, Radant AD, Seidman LJ, Sharp RF, Siever LJ, Silverman JM, Sprock J, Stone WS, Sugar CA, Tsuang DW, Tsuang MT, Braff DL, Turetsky BI. Validation of mismatch negativity and P3a for use in multi-site studies of schizophrenia: characterization of demographic, clinical, cognitive, and functional correlates in COGS-2. Schizophr Res 2015; 163:63-72. [PMID: 25449710 PMCID: PMC4382452 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2014.09.042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 136] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2014] [Revised: 09/16/2014] [Accepted: 09/18/2014] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Mismatch negativity (MMN) and P3a are auditory event-related potential (ERP) components that show robust deficits in schizophrenia (SZ) patients and exhibit qualities of endophenotypes, including substantial heritability, test-retest reliability, and trait-like stability. These measures also fulfill criteria for use as cognition and function-linked biomarkers in outcome studies, but have not yet been validated for use in large-scale multi-site clinical studies. This study tested the feasibility of adding MMN and P3a to the ongoing Consortium on the Genetics of Schizophrenia (COGS) study. The extent to which demographic, clinical, cognitive, and functional characteristics contribute to variability in MMN and P3a amplitudes was also examined. Participants (HCS n=824, SZ n=966) underwent testing at 5 geographically distributed COGS laboratories. Valid ERP recordings were obtained from 91% of HCS and 91% of SZ patients. Highly significant MMN (d=0.96) and P3a (d=0.93) amplitude reductions were observed in SZ patients, comparable in magnitude to those observed in single-lab studies with no appreciable differences across laboratories. Demographic characteristics accounted for 26% and 18% of the variance in MMN and P3a amplitudes, respectively. Significant relationships were observed among demographically-adjusted MMN and P3a measures and medication status as well as several clinical, cognitive, and functional characteristics of the SZ patients. This study demonstrates that MMN and P3a ERP biomarkers can be feasibly used in multi-site clinical studies. As with many clinical tests of brain function, demographic factors contribute to MMN and P3a amplitudes and should be carefully considered in future biomarker-informed clinical studies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Gregory A. Light
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA,VISN-22 Mental Illness, Research, Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC), VA San Diego Healthcare System
| | - Neal R. Swerdlow
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA
| | - Michael L. Thomas
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA
| | - Monica E. Calkins
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
| | - Michael F. Green
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA,VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, CA
| | | | - Raquel E. Gur
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
| | - Ruben C. Gur
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
| | - Laura C. Lazzeroni
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA
| | - Keith H. Nuechterlein
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
| | - Marlena Pela
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA
| | - Allen D. Radant
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA,VA Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle, WA
| | - Larry J. Seidman
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA,Massachusetts Mental Health Center Public Psychiatry Division of the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA
| | - Richard F. Sharp
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA
| | - Larry J. Siever
- Department of Psychiatry, The Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY,James J. Peters VA Medical Center, New York, NY
| | - Jeremy M. Silverman
- Department of Psychiatry, The Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY,James J. Peters VA Medical Center, New York, NY
| | - Joyce Sprock
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA
| | - William S. Stone
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA,Massachusetts Mental Health Center Public Psychiatry Division of the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA
| | - Catherine A. Sugar
- Department of Biostatistics, University of California Los Angeles School of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA
| | - Debby W. Tsuang
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA,VA Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle, WA
| | - Ming T. Tsuang
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA,Center for Behavioral Genomics, and Institute for Genomic Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA,Harvard Institute of Psychiatric Epidemiology and Genetics, Boston, MA
| | - David L. Braff
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA
| | - Bruce I. Turetsky
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
| |
Collapse
|
26
|
Light GA, Swerdlow NR. Future clinical uses of neurophysiological biomarkers to predict and monitor treatment response for schizophrenia. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2015; 1344:105-19. [PMID: 25752648 DOI: 10.1111/nyas.12730] [Citation(s) in RCA: 109] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Advances in psychiatric neuroscience have transformed our understanding of impaired and spared brain functions in psychotic illnesses. Despite substantial progress, few (if any) laboratory tests have graduated to clinics to inform diagnoses, guide treatments, and monitor treatment response. Providers must rely on careful behavioral observation and interview techniques to make inferences about patients' inner experiences and then secondary deductions about impacted neural systems. Development of more effective treatments has also been hindered by a lack of translational quantitative biomarkers that can span the brain-behavior treatment knowledge gap. Here, we describe an example of a simple, low-cost, and translatable electroencephalography (EEG) measure that offers promise for improving our understanding and treatment of psychotic illnesses: mismatch negativity (MMN). MMN is sensitive to and/or predicts response to some pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic interventions and accounts for substantial portions of variance in clinical, cognitive, and psychosocial functioning in schizophrenia (SZ). This measure has recently been validated for use in large-scale multisite clinical studies of SZ. Finally, MMN greatly improves our ability to forecast which individuals at high clinical risk actually develop a psychotic illness. These attributes suggest that MMN can contribute to personalized biomarker-guided treatment strategies aimed at ameliorating or even preventing the onset of psychosis.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Gregory A Light
- VISN 22 Mental Illness, Research, Education, and Clinical Center (MIRECC), VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, California; Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California
| | | |
Collapse
|
27
|
Young JW, Geyer MA. Developing treatments for cognitive deficits in schizophrenia: the challenge of translation. J Psychopharmacol 2015; 29:178-96. [PMID: 25516372 PMCID: PMC4670265 DOI: 10.1177/0269881114555252] [Citation(s) in RCA: 83] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Schizophrenia is a life-long debilitating mental disorder affecting tens of millions of people worldwide. The serendipitous discovery of antipsychotics focused pharmaceutical research on developing a better antipsychotic. Our understanding of the disorder has advanced however, with the knowledge that cognitive enhancers are required for patients in order to improve their everyday lives. While antipsychotics treat psychosis, they do not enhance cognition and hence are not antischizophrenics. Developing pro-cognitive therapeutics has been extremely difficult, however, especially when no approved treatment exists. In lieu of stumbling on an efficacious treatment, developing targeted compounds can be facilitated by understanding the neural mechanisms underlying altered cognitive functioning in patients. Equally importantly, these cognitive domains will need to be measured similarly in animals and humans so that novel targets can be tested prior to conducting expensive clinical trials. To date, the limited similarity of testing across species has resulted in a translational bottleneck. In this review, we emphasize that schizophrenia is a disorder characterized by abnormal cognitive behavior. Quantifying these abnormalities using tasks having cross-species validity would enable the quantification of comparable processes in rodents. This approach would increase the likelihood that the neural substrates underlying relevant behaviors will be conserved across species. Hence, we detail cross-species tasks which can be used to test the effects of manipulations relevant to schizophrenia and putative therapeutics. Such tasks offer the hope of providing a bridge between non-clinical and clinical testing that will eventually lead to treatments developed specifically for patients with deficient cognition.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- JW Young
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - MA Geyer
- Research Service, VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA, USA
| |
Collapse
|
28
|
Light GA, Makeig S. Electroencephalographic biomarkers of psychosis: present and future. Biol Psychiatry 2015; 77:87-9. [PMID: 25524305 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2014.11.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2014] [Accepted: 11/05/2014] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Gregory A Light
- Veterans Integrated Service Network-22 Mental Illness, Research, Education and Clinical Center , U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego; Department of Psychiatry, Institute for Neural Computation, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California.
| | - Scott Makeig
- Swartz Center for Computational Neuroscience, Institute for Neural Computation, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California
| |
Collapse
|
29
|
Tarasenko MA, Swerdlow NR, Makeig S, Braff DL, Light GA. The auditory brain-stem response to complex sounds: a potential biomarker for guiding treatment of psychosis. Front Psychiatry 2014; 5:142. [PMID: 25352811 PMCID: PMC4195270 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2014.00142] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2014] [Accepted: 09/25/2014] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Cognitive deficits limit psychosocial functioning in schizophrenia. For many patients, cognitive remediation approaches have yielded encouraging results. Nevertheless, therapeutic response is variable, and outcome studies consistently identify individuals who respond minimally to these interventions. Biomarkers that can assist in identifying patients likely to benefit from particular forms of cognitive remediation are needed. Here, we describe an event-related potential (ERP) biomarker - the auditory brain-stem response (ABR) to complex sounds (cABR) - that appears to be particularly well-suited for predicting response to at least one form of cognitive remediation that targets auditory information processing. Uniquely, the cABR quantifies the fidelity of sound encoded at the level of the brainstem and midbrain. This ERP biomarker has revealed auditory processing abnormalities in various neurodevelopmental disorders, correlates with functioning across several cognitive domains, and appears to be responsive to targeted auditory training. We present preliminary cABR data from 18 schizophrenia patients and propose further investigation of this biomarker for predicting and tracking response to cognitive interventions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Melissa A Tarasenko
- VISN-22 Mental Illness, Research, Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC), VA San Diego Healthcare System , La Jolla, CA , USA ; Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego , La Jolla, CA , USA
| | - Neal R Swerdlow
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego , La Jolla, CA , USA
| | - Scott Makeig
- Swartz Center for Computational Neuroscience, Institute for Neural Computation, University of California San Diego , La Jolla, CA , USA
| | - David L Braff
- VISN-22 Mental Illness, Research, Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC), VA San Diego Healthcare System , La Jolla, CA , USA ; Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego , La Jolla, CA , USA
| | - Gregory A Light
- VISN-22 Mental Illness, Research, Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC), VA San Diego Healthcare System , La Jolla, CA , USA ; Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego , La Jolla, CA , USA
| |
Collapse
|