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Yao X, Klugah-Brown B, Yang H, Biswal B. Structural and functional network analysis of twins using fMRI data. Cereb Cortex 2023; 33:11060-11069. [PMID: 37771046 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhad345] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2023] [Revised: 08/22/2023] [Accepted: 08/24/2023] [Indexed: 09/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Similarities between twins have been widely demonstrated, underscoring the remarkable influence of genetics across numerous traits. In this study, we explore the genetic underpinnings of the human brain by examining MRI data from the Queensland Twin Imaging study. Specifically, this study seeks to compare brain structure and function between twins and unrelated subjects, with an emphasis on describing the effects of genetic factors. To achieve these goals, we employed the source-based morphometry method to extract intrinsic components and elucidate recognizable patterns. Our results show that twins exhibit a higher degree of similarity in gray and white matter density compared with unrelated individuals. In addition, four distinct states of brain activity were identified using coactivation patterns analysis. Furthermore, twins demonstrated a greater degree of similarity in the temporal and spatial features of each state compared with unrelated subjects. Taken together, these results support the hypothesis that twins show greater similarity in both brain structure and dynamic functional brain activity. Further exploration of these methods may advance our understanding of the complex interplay between genes, environment, and brain networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xing Yao
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, Center for Information in Medicine, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China
| | - Benjamin Klugah-Brown
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, Center for Information in Medicine, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China
| | - Hang Yang
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, Center for Information in Medicine, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China
| | - Bharat Biswal
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, Center for Information in Medicine, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ, 07102, USA
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2
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Pfeifer LS, Schmitz J, Papadatou-Pastou M, Peterburs J, Paracchini S, Ocklenburg S. Handedness in twins: meta-analyses. BMC Psychol 2022; 10:11. [PMID: 35033205 PMCID: PMC8760823 DOI: 10.1186/s40359-021-00695-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2021] [Accepted: 11/24/2021] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND In the general population, 10.6% of people favor their left hand over the right for motor tasks. Previous research suggests higher prevalence of atypical (left-, mixed-, or non-right-) handedness in (i) twins compared to singletons, and in (ii) monozygotic compared to dizygotic twins. Moreover, (iii) studies have shown a higher rate of handedness concordance in monozygotic compared to dizygotic twins, in line with genetic factors playing a role for handedness. METHODS By means of a systematic review, we identified 59 studies from previous literature and performed three sets of random effects meta-analyses on (i) twin-to-singleton Odds Ratios (21 studies, n = 189,422 individuals) and (ii) monozygotic-to-dizygotic twin Odds Ratios (48 studies, n = 63,295 individuals), both times for prevalence of left-, mixed-, and non-right-handedness. For monozygotic and dizygotic twin pairs we compared (iii) handedness concordance Odds Ratios (44 studies, n = 36,217 twin pairs). We also tested for potential effects of moderating variables, such as sex, age, the method used to assess handedness, and the twins' zygosity. RESULTS We found (i) evidence for higher prevalence of left- (Odds Ratio = 1.40, 95% Confidence Interval = [1.26, 1.57]) and non-right- (Odds Ratio = 1.36, 95% Confidence Interval = [1.22, 1.52]), but not mixed-handedness (Odds Ratio = 1.08, 95% Confidence Interval = [0.52, 2.27]) among twins compared to singletons. We further showed a decrease in Odds Ratios in more recent studies (post-1975: Odds Ratio = 1.30, 95% Confidence Interval = [1.17, 1.45]) compared to earlier studies (pre-1975: Odds Ratio = 1.90, 95% Confidence Interval = [1.59-2.27]). While there was (ii) no difference between monozygotic and dizygotic twins regarding prevalence of left- (Odds Ratio = 0.98, 95% Confidence Interval = [0.89, 1.07]), mixed- (Odds Ratio = 0.96, 95% Confidence Interval = [0.46, 1.99]), or non-right-handedness (Odds Ratio = 1.01, 95% Confidence Interval = [0.91, 1.12]), we found that (iii) handedness concordance was elevated among monozygotic compared to dizygotic twin pairs (Odds Ratio = 1.11, 95% Confidence Interval = [1.06, 1.18]). By means of moderator analyses, we did not find evidence for effects of potentially confounding variables. CONCLUSION We provide the largest and most comprehensive meta-analysis on handedness in twins. Although a raw, unadjusted analysis found a higher prevalence of left- and non-right-, but not mixed-handedness among twins compared to singletons, left-handedness was substantially more prevalent in earlier than in more recent studies. The single large, recent study which included birth weight, Apgar score and gestational age as covariates found no twin-singleton difference in handedness rate, but these covariates could not be included in the present meta-analysis. Together, the secular shift and the influence of covariates probably make it unsafe to conclude that twinning has a genuine relationship to handedness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lena Sophie Pfeifer
- Cognitive Psychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Universitätsstraße 150, 44780, Bochum, Germany.
| | - Judith Schmitz
- School of Medicine, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Scotland
| | - Marietta Papadatou-Pastou
- School of Education, Department of Primary Education, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
- Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - Jutta Peterburs
- Institute of Systems Medicine and Department of Human Medicine, MSH Medical School Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
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3
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Sanford N, Woodward TS. Functional Delineation of Prefrontal Networks Underlying Working Memory in Schizophrenia: A Cross-data-set Examination. J Cogn Neurosci 2021; 33:1880-1908. [PMID: 34375420 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01726] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Working memory (WM) impairment in schizophrenia substantially impacts functional outcome. Although the dorsolateral pFC has been implicated in such impairment, a more comprehensive examination of brain networks comprising pFC is warranted. The present research used a whole-brain, multi-experiment analysis to delineate task-related networks comprising pFC. Activity was examined in schizophrenia patients across a variety of cognitive demands. METHODS One hundred schizophrenia patients and 102 healthy controls completed one of four fMRI tasks: a Sternberg verbal WM task, a visuospatial WM task, a Stroop set-switching task, and a thought generation task (TGT). Task-related networks were identified using multi-experiment constrained PCA for fMRI. Effects of task conditions and group differences were examined using mixed-model ANOVA on the task-related time series. Correlations between task performance and network engagement were also performed. RESULTS Four spatially and temporally distinct networks with pFC activation emerged and were postulated to subserve (1) internal attention, (2) auditory-motor attention, (3) motor responses, and (4) task energizing. The "energizing" network-engaged during WM encoding and diminished in patients-exhibited consistent trend relationships with WM capacity across different data sets. The dorsolateral-prefrontal-cortex-dominated "internal attention" network exhibited some evidence of hypoactivity in patients, but was not correlated with WM performance. CONCLUSIONS Multi-experiment analysis allowed delineation of task-related, pFC-anchored networks across different cognitive constructs. Given the results with respect to the early-responding "energizing" network, WM deficits in schizophrenia may arise from disruption in the "energization" process described by Donald Stuss' model of pFC functions.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Todd S Woodward
- University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.,BC Mental Health and Substance Use Services Research Institute, Vancouver, Canada
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4
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Yaple ZA, Tolomeo S, Yu R. Mapping working memory-specific dysfunction using a transdiagnostic approach. NEUROIMAGE-CLINICAL 2021; 31:102747. [PMID: 34256292 PMCID: PMC8278205 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2021.102747] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2021] [Accepted: 06/26/2021] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
Background Working memory (WM) is an executive ability that allows one to hold and manipulate information for a short period of time. Schizophrenia and mood disorders are severe psychiatric conditions with overlapping genetic and clinical symptoms. Whilst WM has been suggested as meeting the criteria for being an endophenotype for schizophrenia and mood disorders, it still unclear whether they share overlapping neural circuitry. Objective The n-back task has been widely used to measure WM capacity, such as maintenance, flexible updating, and interference control. Here we compiled studies that included psychiatric populations, i.e., schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder. Methods We performed a coordinate-based meta-analysis that combined 34 BOLD-fMRI studies comparing activity associated with n-back working memory between psychiatric patients and healthy controls. We specifically focused our search using the n-back task to diminish study heterogeneity. Results All patient groups showed blunted activity in the striatum, anterior insula and frontal lobe. The same brain networks related to WM were compromised in schizophrenia, major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder. Conclusion Our findings support the suggestion of commonal functional abnormalities across schizophrenia and mood disorders related to WM.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Serenella Tolomeo
- Department of Psychology, National University of Singapore, Singapore
| | - Rongjun Yu
- Department of Management, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, China; Department of Sport, Physical Education and Health, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, China; Department of Physics, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, China.
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5
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Chen C, Zhang Y, Zhen Z, Song Y, Hu S, Liu J. Quantifying the variability of neural activation in working memory: A functional probabilistic atlas. Neuroimage 2021; 239:118301. [PMID: 34171499 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118301] [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: 12/17/2020] [Revised: 06/19/2021] [Accepted: 06/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Working memory is a fundamental cognitive ability that allows the maintenance and manipulation of information for a brief period of time. Previous studies found a set of brain regions activated during working memory tasks, such as the prefrontal and parietal cortex. However, little is known about the variability of neural activation in working memory. Here, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to quantify individual, hemispheric, and sex differences of working memory activation in a large cohort of healthy adults (N = 477). We delineated subject-specific activated regions in each individual, including the frontal pole, middle frontal gyrus, frontal eye field, superior parietal lobule, insular, precuneus, and anterior cingulate cortex. A functional probabilistic atlas was created to quantify individual variability in working memory regions. More than 90% of the participants activated all seven regions in both hemispheres, but the intersection of regions across participants was markedly less (50%), indicating significant individual differences in working memory activations. Moreover, we found hemispheric and sex differences in activation location, extent, and magnitude. Most activation regions were larger in the right than in the left hemisphere, but the magnitude of activation did not follow a similar pattern. Men showed more extensive and stronger activations than women. Taken together, our functional probabilistic atlas quantified variabilities of neural activation in working memory, providing a robust spatial reference for standardization of functional localization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chen Chen
- Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Ying Zhang
- Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Zonglei Zhen
- Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China; Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Yiying Song
- Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China; Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Siyuan Hu
- Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China; Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
| | - Jia Liu
- Department of Psychology, Tsinghua Laboratory of Brain and Intelligence, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
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6
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Rauer L, Trost S, Petrovic A, Gruber O. Cortical activation abnormalities in bipolar and schizophrenia patients in a combined oddball-incongruence paradigm. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 2021; 271:1487-1499. [PMID: 32710172 PMCID: PMC8563619 DOI: 10.1007/s00406-020-01168-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2020] [Accepted: 07/13/2020] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
Abstract
Patients with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia often suffer from severe cognitive impairment even during times of remission. This study investigated the pathomechanisms underlying their deficits in cognitive control. A combined oddball-incongruence fMRI task was applied to examine similarities and differences of neural activation patterns between patients and healthy controls. Bipolar and schizophrenia patients demonstrated hyperactivations in the intraparietal cortex during the oddball condition. Furthermore, bipolar patients revealed diagnosis-specific hyperactivation in the left middle frontal gyrus, precentral gyrus, anteroventral prefrontal cortex and orbitofrontal cortex regions compared to schizophrenia patients and healthy individuals. In comparison to healthy controls the patients showed hypoactivations in the inferior frontal junction and ventral pathway during the cognitively more demanding incongruence. Taken together, bipolar patients seem to recruit frontal and parietal areas during the oddball condition to compensate for potential deficits in their attentional network. During more challenging tasks, i.e., the incongruence condition, their compensatory mechanisms seem to collapse leading to hypoactivations in the same frontal areas as well as the ventral pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa Rauer
- Section for Experimental Psychopathology and Neuroimaging, Department of General Psychiatry, University Hospital Heidelberg, 69115, Heidelberg, Germany.
| | - Sarah Trost
- grid.411984.10000 0001 0482 5331Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Center for Translational Research in Systems Neuroscience and Clinical Psychiatry, University Medical Center Göttingen, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Aleksandra Petrovic
- grid.411984.10000 0001 0482 5331Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Center for Translational Research in Systems Neuroscience and Clinical Psychiatry, University Medical Center Göttingen, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Oliver Gruber
- grid.5253.10000 0001 0328 4908Section for Experimental Psychopathology and Neuroimaging, Department of General Psychiatry, University Hospital Heidelberg, 69115 Heidelberg, Germany
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7
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Memory Impairments and Psychosis Prediction: A Scoping Review and Theoretical Overview. Neuropsychol Rev 2020; 30:521-545. [PMID: 33226539 DOI: 10.1007/s11065-020-09464-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2019] [Accepted: 10/18/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Impairments in memory functions are among the most robust correlates of schizophrenia and of poor functional outcomes in individuals with psychotic disorders. Prospective, longitudinal studies are crucial to determining the meaning of these deficits in relation to mechanisms associated with the onset and course of these disorders.The objective of this review is to examine the literature concerning premorbid memory impairments during the prodromal phase of psychosis to address three primary questions 1) are memory impairments present among individuals with a clinical high risk syndrome? 2) are memory deficits in clinical high risk cases predictive of future conversion to psychosis? and 3) what are the underlying neural correlates of memory impairment in clinical high risk individuals and are they also predictive of future conversion?PubMed and Google Scholar databases were systematically searched. The primary inclusion criteria were to select studies that 1) were original research articles published in a peer-reviewed journal in the past 25 years, 2) studied subjects at clinical high risk for psychosis or in the prodromal phase of illness, and 3) included examinations into verbal memory performance in those at clinical high risk for psychosis.64 articles were identified and screened for eligibility. The review included 34 studies investigating verbal memory impairment in clinical high risk individuals compared to controls. The average effect size of verbal learning total recall was .58, indicating a moderate level of impairment in verbal learning among individuals at clinical high risk for psychosis as compared to healthy controls. Of studies that predicted time to conversion, indices of memory, particularly declarative and verbal working memory, were especially predictive of future conversion. Finally, when examining investigations of the neural correlates of memory dysfunction in the clinical high risk state, findings suggest altered activation and functional connectivity among medial temporal lobe regions may underlie differences in memory performance between clinical high risk individuals and healthy controls.Findings to date strongly indicate that memory impairments are present during the premorbid phase of psychosis and that verbal memory impairment in particular is predictive of future conversion to psychosis. Evidence from fMRI studies is fairly consistent in showing greater activation of memory-related regions during retrieval among clinical high risk cases who convert, with less consistent evidence of altered functional connectivity in the encoding phase. These findings support the use of verbal learning and memory measures in the psychosis prediction and prevention field.
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8
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Avery SN, McHugo M, Armstrong K, Blackford JU, Vandekar S, Woodward ND, Heckers S. Habituation during encoding: A new approach to the evaluation of memory deficits in schizophrenia. Schizophr Res 2020; 223:179-185. [PMID: 32736836 PMCID: PMC7704891 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2020.07.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2019] [Revised: 04/30/2020] [Accepted: 07/16/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Memory is significantly impaired in schizophrenia. However, memory measures are often complex and confounded by additional impairments such as motivation and task comprehension, which can affect behavioral performance and obscure neural function during memory tasks. Neural signatures of memory encoding that are robust to potential confounds may shed additional light on neural deficits contributing to memory impairment in schizophrenia. METHODS Here, we investigate a potential neural signature of memory-habituation-and its relationship with healthy and impaired memory function. To limit potential confounds, we used a passive depth of encoding memory task designed to elicit neural responses associated with memory encoding while limiting other cognitive demands. To determine whether habituation during encoding was predictive of intact memory processing, we first compared neural habituation over repeated encoding exposures with subsequent explicit memory in healthy individuals. We then tested whether a similar relationship existed in patients with schizophrenia. RESULTS Explicit memory performance was impaired in patients with schizophrenia relative to healthy control subjects. In healthy participants, more habituation over repeated exposures during encoding was associated with greater repetition-related increases in accuracy during testing. However, in patients with schizophrenia, better performance was associated with less habituation, or a more sustained neural response during encoding. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that sustained neural activity is required for normal repetition-related improvements in memory performance in schizophrenia, in line with a neural inefficiency model. Habituation may serve as a valuable index of neural processes that underlie behavioral memory performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Suzanne N. Avery
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN
| | - Maureen McHugo
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN
| | - Kristan Armstrong
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN
| | - Jennifer U. Blackford
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN
| | - Simon Vandekar
- Department of Biostatistics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN
| | - Neil D. Woodward
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN
| | - Stephan Heckers
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN
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Lamichhane B, Westbrook A, Cole MW, Braver TS. Exploring brain-behavior relationships in the N-back task. Neuroimage 2020; 212:116683. [PMID: 32114149 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.116683] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2019] [Revised: 02/17/2020] [Accepted: 02/24/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Working memory (WM) function has traditionally been investigated in terms of two dimensions: within-individual effects of WM load, and between-individual differences in task performance. In human neuroimaging studies, the N-back task has frequently been used to study both. A reliable finding is that activation in frontoparietal regions exhibits an inverted-U pattern, such that activity tends to decrease at high load levels. Yet it is not known whether such U-shaped patterns are a key individual differences factor that can predict load-related changes in task performance. The current study investigated this question by manipulating load levels across a much wider range than explored previously (N = 1-6), and providing a more comprehensive examination of brain-behavior relationships. In a sample of healthy young adults (n = 57), the analysis focused on a distinct region of left lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC) identified in prior work to show a unique relationship with task performance and WM function. In this region it was the linear slope of load-related activity, rather than the U-shaped pattern, that was positively associated with individual differences in target accuracy. Comprehensive supplemental analyses revealed the brain-wide selectivity of this pattern. Target accuracy was also independently predicted by the global resting-state connectivity of this LPFC region. These effects were robust, as demonstrated by cross-validation analyses and out-of-sample prediction, and also critically, were primarily driven by the high-load conditions. Together, the results highlight the utility of high-load conditions for investigating individual differences in WM function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bidhan Lamichhane
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Washington University in Saint Louis, 1 Brookings Drive, Saint Louis, MO, 63130, USA.
| | - Andrew Westbrook
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Kapittelweg 29, 6525 EN, Nijmegen, the Netherlands; Department of Cognitive, Linguistics, and Psychological Sciences, Brown University, 190 Thayer Street, Providence, RI, 02912, USA
| | - Michael W Cole
- Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ, USA
| | - Todd S Braver
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Washington University in Saint Louis, 1 Brookings Drive, Saint Louis, MO, 63130, USA
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Johnsen LK, Ver Loren van Themaat AH, Larsen KM, Burton BK, Baaré WFC, Madsen KS, Nordentoft M, Siebner HR, Plessen KJ. Alterations in Task-Related Brain Activation in Children, Adolescents and Young Adults at Familial High-Risk for Schizophrenia or Bipolar Disorder - A Systematic Review. Front Psychiatry 2020; 11:632. [PMID: 32754058 PMCID: PMC7365908 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00632] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2020] [Accepted: 06/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Children, adolescents, and young adults with at least one first-degree relative [familial high-risk (FHR)] with either schizophrenia (SZ) or bipolar disorder (BD) have a one-in-two risk of developing a psychiatric disorder. Here, we review functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies which examined task-related brain activity in young individuals with FHR-SZ and FHR-BD. A systematic search identified all published task-related fMRI studies in children, adolescents, and young adults below an age of 27 years with a first-degree relative with SZ or BD, but without manifest psychotic or affective spectrum disorder themselves. The search identified 19 cross-sectional fMRI studies covering four main cognitive domains: 1) working memory (n = 3), 2) cognitive control (n = 4), 3) reward processing (n = 3), and 4) emotion processing (n = 9). Thirteen studies included FHR-BD, five studies included FHR-SZ, and one study included a pooled FHR group. In general, task performance did not differ between the respective FHR groups and healthy controls, but 18 out of the 19 fMRI studies revealed regional alterations in task-related activation. Brain regions showing group differences in peak activation were regions associated with the respective task domain and showed little overlap between FHR-SZ and FHR-BD. The low number of studies, together with the low number of subjects, and the substantial heterogeneity of employed methodological approaches within the domain of working memory, cognitive control, and reward processing impedes finite conclusions. Emotion processing was the most investigated task domain in FHR-BD. Four studies reported differences in activation of the amygdala, and two studies reported differences in activation of inferior frontal/middle gyrus. Together, these studies provide evidence for altered brain processing of emotions in children, adolescents, and young adults at FHR-BD. More studies of higher homogeneity, larger sample sizes and with a longitudinal study design are warranted to prove a shared or specific FHR-related endophenotypic brain activation in young first-degree relatives of individuals with SZ or BD, as well as to pinpoint specific alterations in brain activation during cognitive-, emotional-, and reward-related tasks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Line Korsgaard Johnsen
- Child and Adolescent Mental Health Centre, Copenhagen University Hospital, Mental Health Services, Capital Region Psychiatry, Copenhagen, Denmark.,Danish Research Centre for Magnetic Resonance, Centre for Functional and Diagnostic Imaging and Research, Copenhagen University Hospital Hvidovre, Copenhagen, Denmark.,Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Institute for Clinical Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Anna Hester Ver Loren van Themaat
- Child and Adolescent Mental Health Centre, Copenhagen University Hospital, Mental Health Services, Capital Region Psychiatry, Copenhagen, Denmark.,Danish Research Centre for Magnetic Resonance, Centre for Functional and Diagnostic Imaging and Research, Copenhagen University Hospital Hvidovre, Copenhagen, Denmark.,Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Institute for Clinical Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Kit Melissa Larsen
- Child and Adolescent Mental Health Centre, Copenhagen University Hospital, Mental Health Services, Capital Region Psychiatry, Copenhagen, Denmark.,Danish Research Centre for Magnetic Resonance, Centre for Functional and Diagnostic Imaging and Research, Copenhagen University Hospital Hvidovre, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Birgitte Klee Burton
- Child and Adolescent Mental Health Centre, Copenhagen University Hospital, Mental Health Services, Capital Region Psychiatry, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - William Frans Christiaan Baaré
- Danish Research Centre for Magnetic Resonance, Centre for Functional and Diagnostic Imaging and Research, Copenhagen University Hospital Hvidovre, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Kathrine Skak Madsen
- Danish Research Centre for Magnetic Resonance, Centre for Functional and Diagnostic Imaging and Research, Copenhagen University Hospital Hvidovre, Copenhagen, Denmark.,Radiography, Department of Technology, University College Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Merete Nordentoft
- Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Institute for Clinical Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.,Mental Health Centre, Research Unit, Copenhagen University Hospital, Mental Health Services, Capital Region Psychiatry, Copenhagen, Denmark.,The Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research, iPSYCH, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Hartwig Roman Siebner
- Danish Research Centre for Magnetic Resonance, Centre for Functional and Diagnostic Imaging and Research, Copenhagen University Hospital Hvidovre, Copenhagen, Denmark.,Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Institute for Clinical Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.,Department of Neurology, Copenhagen University Hospital Bispebjerg, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Kerstin Jessica Plessen
- Child and Adolescent Mental Health Centre, Copenhagen University Hospital, Mental Health Services, Capital Region Psychiatry, Copenhagen, Denmark.,The Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research, iPSYCH, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.,Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, The University Hospital of Lausanne (CHUV), Lausanne, Switzerland
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Van den Boom MA, Jansma JM, Ramsey NF. Rapid acquisition of dynamic control over DLPFC using real-time fMRI feedback. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol 2018; 28:1194-1205. [PMID: 30217551 PMCID: PMC6420021 DOI: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2018.08.508] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2017] [Revised: 08/08/2018] [Accepted: 08/14/2018] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
It has been postulated that gaining control over activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), a key region of the working memory brain network, may be beneficial for cognitive performance and treatment of certain psychiatric disorders. Several studies have reported that, with neurofeedback training, subjects can learn to increase DLPFC activity. However, improvement of dynamic control in terms of switching between low and high activity in DLPFC brain states may potentially constitute more effective self-regulation. Here, we report on feasibility of obtaining dynamic control over DLPFC, meaning the ability to both in- and decrease activity at will, within a single functional MRI scan session. Two groups of healthy volunteers (N = 24) were asked to increase and decrease activity in the left DLPFC as often as possible during fMRI scans (at 7 Tesla), while receiving real-time visual feedback. The experimental group practiced with real-time feedback, whereas the control group received sham feedback. The experimental group significantly increased the speed of intentionally alternating DLPFC activity, while performance of the control group did not change. Analysis of the characteristics of the BOLD signal during successful trials revealed that training with neurofeedback predominantly reduced the time for the DLPFC to return to baseline after activation. These results provide a preliminary indication that people may be able to learn to dynamically down-regulate the level of physiological activity in the DLPFC, and may have implications for psychiatric disorders where DLPFC plays a role.
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Affiliation(s)
- Max Alexander Van den Boom
- Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Brain Center Rudolf Magnus, University Medical Center Utrecht, P.O. Box 85500, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
| | - Johan Martijn Jansma
- Department of Neurosurgery, Elisabeth-TweeSteden Hospital, Tilburg, The Netherlands
| | - Nick Franciscus Ramsey
- Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Brain Center Rudolf Magnus, University Medical Center Utrecht, P.O. Box 85500, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
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12
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Differentiating between clinical and behavioral phenotypes in first-episode psychosis during maintenance of visuospatial working memory. Schizophr Res 2018; 197:357-364. [PMID: 29137828 PMCID: PMC5948111 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2017.11.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2017] [Revised: 09/03/2017] [Accepted: 11/06/2017] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION We probed the neural basis of working memory in individuals with first episode of psychosis (FEP) and assessed how these neural abnormalities are associated with behavioral performance and/or core to psychosis pathophysiology. METHODS FEP (N=35) and matched controls (N=25) performed a visuospatial working memory task during fMRI acquisition. We isolated neural activity during the maintenance period and examined neural activity within regions typically engaged during a working memory task. Functional connectivity estimates were derived using psychophysiological interaction analysis. We examined correlations between brain function and behavioral performance and clinical symptomatology. RESULTS FEP had reduced accuracy and slower reaction times compared to controls (p<0.05, q<0.05). During the maintenance period, FEP exhibited reduced right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) activation compared to controls (p=0.007, q=0.01), even when behavioral performance was matched between groups (p=0.01, q=0.03). Unlike controls, FEP failed to show increased dorsal anterior cingulate (dACC) activity with increased load level (p=0.02, q=0.06). Compared to controls, FEP showed increased negative DLPFC-dACC coupling during the maintenance period (p=0.05). Increased DLPFC activation was significantly associated with greater negative symptoms (p<0.005, q=0.02), while greater dACC activation was significantly associated with better performance in FEP (p<0.05, q<0.17). CONCLUSION WM impairment in psychosis may be specific to abnormalities in the ability of frontal systems processing executive commands (DLPFC) and monitoring performance (dACC) during the maintenance of information. Our results add to accumulating evidence indicating that DLPFC abnormalities may be core to psychosis psychopathology. We also provide new insights regarding how DLPFC abnormalities may undermine dACC processing during the maintenance of information.
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13
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Kustermann T, Popov T, Miller GA, Rockstroh B. Verbal working memory-related neural network communication in schizophrenia. Psychophysiology 2018; 55:e13088. [DOI: 10.1111/psyp.13088] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2017] [Revised: 01/31/2018] [Accepted: 03/12/2018] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Tzvetan Popov
- Department of Psychology; University of Konstanz; Konstanz Germany
| | - Gregory A. Miller
- Department of Psychology and Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences; University of California Los Angeles; Los Angeles California USA
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14
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Loeb FF, Zhou X, Craddock KES, Shora L, Broadnax DD, Gochman P, Clasen LS, Lalonde FM, Berman RA, Berman KF, Rapoport JL, Liu S. Reduced Functional Brain Activation and Connectivity During a Working Memory Task in Childhood-Onset Schizophrenia. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2018; 57:166-174. [PMID: 29496125 PMCID: PMC5836498 DOI: 10.1016/j.jaac.2017.12.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2017] [Revised: 12/05/2017] [Accepted: 12/22/2017] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Working memory (WM) deficits are consistently reported in schizophrenia and are related to poor functional outcomes. Functional magnetic resonance imaging studies of adult-onset schizophrenia have reported decreased functional activations and connectivity in the WM network, but no prior functional magnetic resonance imaging study has examined WM in childhood-onset schizophrenia (COS). The aim of this study was to examine the neural correlates of WM in COS. METHOD Adult patients with COS (n = 32, 21.3 ± 1.1 years), nonpsychotic siblings of patients with COS (n = 30, 19.4 ± 0.8 years), and healthy controls (n = 39, 20.0 ± 0.7 years) completed 1- and 2-back WM tasks during 3-T functional magnetic resonance imaging. Functional activation and connectivity analyses were conducted. A separate group of 23 younger patients with COS (17.9 ± 7.4 years) could not perform the tasks after twice completing a standard training and are not included in this report. RESULTS Patients with COS who were included scored significantly lower than controls on all tasks (p < .001). Patients with COS showed significantly lower activations in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortices, posterior parietal cortices, cerebellum, and caudate and decreased frontoparietal and corticostriatal functional connectivity compared with controls (p < .05, corrected). Siblings had functional activations and connectivity intermediate between those of patients and controls in a similar set of regions (p < .05, corrected). In patients, functional connectivity strength in the left frontoparietal network correlated positively with accuracy scores during the 1-back task (p = .0023, corrected). CONCLUSION Decreased functional activation and connectivity in the WM network in COS supports pathophysiologic continuity with adult-onset schizophrenia. The low participation rate and accuracy of the patients highlights the disease severity of COS. Hypo-activations and hypo-connectivity were shared by siblings of patients with COS, suggesting COS as a potential endophenotype. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION INFORMATION Evaluating Genetic Risk Factors for Childhood-Onset Schizophrenia; http://ClinicalTrials.gov;NCT00001198.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Karen F Berman
- Clinical Translational Neuroscience Branch, at the National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD
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15
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Barber AD, Lindquist MA, DeRosse P, Karlsgodt KH. Dynamic Functional Connectivity States Reflecting Psychotic-like Experiences. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY: COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE AND NEUROIMAGING 2017; 3:443-453. [PMID: 29735154 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2017.09.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2017] [Revised: 09/13/2017] [Accepted: 09/14/2017] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) are associated with lower social and occupational functioning, and lower executive function. Emerging evidence also suggests that PLEs reflect neural dysfunction resembling that of psychotic disorders. METHODS The present study examined dynamic connectivity related to a measure of PLEs derived from the Achenbach Adult Self-Report, in an otherwise-healthy sample of adults from the Human Connectome Project. A total of 76 PLE-endorsing and 153 control participants were included in the final sample. To characterize network dysfunction, dynamic connectivity states were examined across large-scale resting-state networks using dynamic conditional correlation and k-means clustering. RESULTS Three dynamic states were identified. The PLE-endorsing group spent more time than the control group in state 1, a state reflecting hyperconnectivity within visual regions and hypoconnectivity within the default mode network, and less time in state 2, a state characterized by robust within-network connectivity for all networks and strong default mode network anticorrelations. Within the PLE-endorsing group, worse executive function was associated with more time spent in and more transitions into state 1 and less time spent in and fewer transitions into state 3. CONCLUSIONS PLEs are associated with altered large-scale brain dynamics, which tip the system away from spending more time in states reflecting more "typical" connectivity patterns toward more time in states reflecting visual hyperconnectivity and default mode hypoconnectivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anita D Barber
- Center for Psychiatric Neuroscience Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, Manhasset, New York.
| | - Martin A Lindquist
- Department of Biostatistics, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Pamela DeRosse
- Center for Psychiatric Neuroscience Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, Manhasset, New York
| | - Katherine H Karlsgodt
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
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16
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Van Snellenberg JX, Girgis RR, Horga G, van de Giessen E, Slifstein M, Ojeil N, Weinstein JJ, Moore H, Lieberman JA, Shohamy D, Smith EE, Abi-Dargham A. Mechanisms of Working Memory Impairment in Schizophrenia. Biol Psychiatry 2016; 80:617-26. [PMID: 27056754 PMCID: PMC4995154 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2016.02.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2015] [Revised: 02/15/2016] [Accepted: 02/16/2016] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The neural correlates of working memory (WM) impairment in schizophrenia remain a key puzzle in understanding the cognitive deficits and dysfunction of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex observed in this disorder. We sought to determine whether patients with schizophrenia exhibit an alteration in the inverted-U relationship between WM load and activation that we recently observed in healthy individuals and whether this could account for WM deficits in this population. METHODS Medicated (n = 30) and unmedicated (n = 21) patients with schizophrenia and healthy control subjects (n = 45) performed the self-ordered WM task during functional magnetic resonance imaging. We identified regions exhibiting an altered fit to an inverted-U relationship between WM load and activation that were also predictive of WM performance. RESULTS A blunted inverted-U response was observed in left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in patients and was associated with behavioral deficits in WM capacity. In addition, suppression of medial prefrontal cortex during WM was reduced in patients and was associated with poorer WM capacity in patients. Finally, activation of visual cortex in the cuneus was elevated in patients and associated with improved WM capacity. Together, these findings explained 55% of the interindividual variance in WM capacity when combined with diagnostic and medication status, which alone accounted for only 22% of the variance in WM capacity. CONCLUSIONS These findings identify a novel biomarker and putative mechanism of WM deficits in patients with schizophrenia, a reduction or flattening of the inverted-U relationship between activation and WM load observed in healthy individuals in left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jared X Van Snellenberg
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York; Divisions of Translational Imaging, New York, New York; Cognitive Neuroscience, New York, New York.
| | - Ragy R Girgis
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York; Divisions of Translational Imaging, New York, New York
| | - Guillermo Horga
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York; Divisions of Translational Imaging, New York, New York
| | - Elsmarieke van de Giessen
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York; Divisions of Translational Imaging, New York, New York; Department of Nuclear Medicine, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Mark Slifstein
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York; Divisions of Translational Imaging, New York, New York
| | - Najate Ojeil
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York; Divisions of Translational Imaging, New York, New York
| | - Jodi J Weinstein
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York; Divisions of Translational Imaging, New York, New York
| | - Holly Moore
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York; Integrative Neuroscience, New York, New York
| | - Jeffrey A Lieberman
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York; New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, New York
| | - Daphna Shohamy
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University, New York, New York
| | - Edward E Smith
- Cognitive Neuroscience, New York, New York; Department of Psychology, Columbia University, New York, New York
| | - Anissa Abi-Dargham
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York; Divisions of Translational Imaging, New York, New York
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17
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Vogel T, Smieskova R, Schmidt A, Walter A, Harrisberger F, Eckert A, Lang UE, Riecher-Rössler A, Graf M, Borgwardt S. Increased superior frontal gyrus activation during working memory processing in psychosis: Significant relation to cumulative antipsychotic medication and to negative symptoms. Schizophr Res 2016; 175:20-26. [PMID: 27102424 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2016.03.033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2015] [Revised: 03/03/2016] [Accepted: 03/29/2016] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Impairment in working memory (WM) is a core symptom in schizophrenia. However, little is known about how clinical features influence functional brain activity specific to WM processing during the development of first-episode psychosis (FEP) to schizophrenia (SZ). We compared functional WM-specific brain activity in FEP and SZ patients, including the effects of the duration of illness, psychopathological factors and antipsychotic medication. METHODS Cross-sectional study of male FEP (n=22) and SZ (n=20) patients performing an n-back task when undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Clinical features were collected by semi-structured interviews and medical records. RESULTS The SZ group performed significantly worse than the FEP group in the 2-back condition. The SZ group also showed significantly higher activation in the left superior frontal gyrus in the 2-back versus 0-back condition (2-back>0-back). This frontal activation correlated positively with negative symptoms and with cumulative antipsychotic medication during the year before the fMRI examination. There were no significant correlations between activation and duration of illness. CONCLUSION There was greater frontal neural activation in SZ than in FEP. This indicated differences in WM processing, and was significantly related to cumulative antipsychotic exposure and negative symptoms, but not to the duration of illness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tobias Vogel
- Psychiatric University Clinics (UPK) Basel, Wilhelm Klein-Strasse 27, Basel, Switzerland; Medical Image Analysis Center, University Hospital Basel, Switzerland
| | - Renata Smieskova
- Psychiatric University Clinics (UPK) Basel, Wilhelm Klein-Strasse 27, Basel, Switzerland; Medical Image Analysis Center, University Hospital Basel, Switzerland; Neurobiology Laboratory for Brain Aging and Mental Health, Psychiatric Clinics of the University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland; Transfacultary Research Platform, Molecular & Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - André Schmidt
- Psychiatric University Clinics (UPK) Basel, Wilhelm Klein-Strasse 27, Basel, Switzerland; Medical Image Analysis Center, University Hospital Basel, Switzerland; Neurobiology Laboratory for Brain Aging and Mental Health, Psychiatric Clinics of the University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland; Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom; Transfacultary Research Platform, Molecular & Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Anna Walter
- Psychiatric University Clinics (UPK) Basel, Wilhelm Klein-Strasse 27, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Fabienne Harrisberger
- Psychiatric University Clinics (UPK) Basel, Wilhelm Klein-Strasse 27, Basel, Switzerland; Medical Image Analysis Center, University Hospital Basel, Switzerland; Neurobiology Laboratory for Brain Aging and Mental Health, Psychiatric Clinics of the University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland; Transfacultary Research Platform, Molecular & Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Anne Eckert
- Neurobiology Laboratory for Brain Aging and Mental Health, Psychiatric Clinics of the University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland; Transfacultary Research Platform, Molecular & Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Undine E Lang
- Psychiatric University Clinics (UPK) Basel, Wilhelm Klein-Strasse 27, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Anita Riecher-Rössler
- Psychiatric University Clinics (UPK) Basel, Wilhelm Klein-Strasse 27, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Marc Graf
- Psychiatric University Clinics (UPK) Basel, Wilhelm Klein-Strasse 27, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Stefan Borgwardt
- Psychiatric University Clinics (UPK) Basel, Wilhelm Klein-Strasse 27, Basel, Switzerland; Medical Image Analysis Center, University Hospital Basel, Switzerland; Neurobiology Laboratory for Brain Aging and Mental Health, Psychiatric Clinics of the University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland; Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom; Transfacultary Research Platform, Molecular & Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
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18
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Disrupted Working Memory Circuitry in Schizophrenia: Disentangling fMRI Markers of Core Pathology vs Other Aspects of Impaired Performance. Neuropsychopharmacology 2016; 41:2411-20. [PMID: 27103065 PMCID: PMC4946071 DOI: 10.1038/npp.2016.55] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2015] [Revised: 03/03/2016] [Accepted: 04/07/2016] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Working memory (WM) impairment, a core feature of schizophrenia, is often associated with aberrant dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) activation. Reduced resting-state connectivity within the frontoparietal control network (FPCN) has also been reported in schizophrenia. However, interpretation of WM-related dlPFC dysfunction has been limited by performance differences between patients and controls, and by uncertainty over the relevance of resting-state connectivity to network engagement during task. We contrasted brain activation in 40 schizophrenia patients and 40 controls during verbal WM performance, and evaluated underlying functional connectivity during rest and task. During correct trials, patients demonstrated normal FPCN activation, despite an inverse relationship between positive symptoms and activation. FPCN activation differed between the groups only during error trials (controls>patients). In contrast, controls demonstrated stronger deactivation of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) during correct and error trials. Functional connectivity analysis indicated impaired resting-state FPCN connectivity in patients, but normal connectivity during task. However, patients showed abnormal connectivity among regions such as vmPFC, lateral orbitofrontal cortex, and parahippocampal gyrus (PHG) during both rest and task. During task, patients also exhibited altered thalamic connectivity to PHG and FPCN. Activation and connectivity patterns that were more characteristic of controls generally correlated with better performance. In summary, patients demonstrated normal FPCN activation when they remained on-task, and exhibited normal FPCN connectivity during WM, whereas vmPFC deactivation differences persisted regardless of WM performance. Our findings suggest that altered FPCN activation in patients reflects performance difference, and that limbic and thalamic dysfunction is critically involved in WM deficits in schizophrenia.
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19
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Zhang R, Picchioni M, Allen P, Toulopoulou T. Working Memory in Unaffected Relatives of Patients With Schizophrenia: A Meta-Analysis of Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Studies. Schizophr Bull 2016; 42:1068-77. [PMID: 26738528 PMCID: PMC4903055 DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbv221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Working memory deficits, a core cognitive feature of schizophrenia may arise from dysfunction in the frontal and parietal cortices. Numerous studies have also found abnormal neural activation during working memory tasks in patients' unaffected relatives. The aim of this study was to systematically identify and anatomically localize the evidence for those activation differences across all eligible studies. Fifteen functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) manuscripts, containing 16 samples of 289 unaffected relatives of patients with schizophrenia, and 358 healthy controls were identified that met our inclusion criteria: (1) used a working memory task; and (2) reported standard space coordinates. Activation likelihood estimation (ALE) identified convergence across studies. Compared to healthy controls, patients' unaffected relatives showed decreases in neural activation in the right middle frontal gyrus (BA9), as well as right inferior frontal gyrus (BA44). Increased activation was seen in relatives in the right frontopolar (BA10), left inferior parietal lobe (BA40), and thalamus bilaterally. These results suggest that the familial risk of schizophrenia is expressed in changes in neural activation in the unaffected relatives in the cortical-subcortical working memory network that includes, but is not restricted to the middle prefrontal cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruibin Zhang
- Department of Psychology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Marco Picchioni
- St Andrew’s Academic Department, Northampton, UK;,Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Science, Institute of Psychiatry, London, UK
| | - Paul Allen
- Department of Psychology, University of Roehampton, London, UK;,Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - Timothea Toulopoulou
- Department of Psychology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; The State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; Department of Psychology, Bilkent University, Ankara, Turkey; Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, The Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
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20
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Berger B, Minarik T, Griesmayr B, Stelzig-Schoeler R, Aichhorn W, Sauseng P. Brain Oscillatory Correlates of Altered Executive Functioning in Positive and Negative Symptomatic Schizophrenia Patients and Healthy Controls. Front Psychol 2016; 7:705. [PMID: 27242617 PMCID: PMC4861861 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00705] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2016] [Accepted: 04/27/2016] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Working Memory and executive functioning deficits are core characteristics of patients suffering from schizophrenia. Electrophysiological research indicates that altered patterns of neural oscillatory mechanisms underpinning executive functioning are associated with the psychiatric disorder. Such brain oscillatory changes have been found in local amplitude differences at gamma and theta frequencies in task-specific cortical areas. Moreover, interregional interactions are also disrupted as signified by decreased phase coherence of fronto-posterior theta activity in schizophrenia patients. However, schizophrenia is not a one-dimensional psychiatric disorder but has various forms and expressions. A common distinction is between positive and negative symptomatology but most patients have both negative and positive symptoms to some extent. Here, we examined three groups—healthy controls, predominantly negative, and predominantly positive symptomatic schizophrenia patients—when performing a working memory task with increasing cognitive demand and increasing need for executive control. We analyzed brain oscillatory activity in the three groups separately and investigated how predominant symptomatology might explain differences in brain oscillatory patterns. Our results indicate that differences in task specific fronto-posterior network activity (i.e., executive control network) expressed by interregional phase synchronization are able to account for working memory dysfunctions between groups. Local changes in the theta and gamma frequency range also show differences between patients and healthy controls, and more importantly, between the two patient groups. We conclude that differences in oscillatory brain activation patterns related to executive processing can be an indicator for positive and negative symptomatology in schizophrenia. Furthermore, changes in cognitive and especially executive functioning in patients are expressed by alterations in a task-specific fronto-posterior connectivity even in the absence of behavioral impairment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barbara Berger
- Department of Psychology, Biological Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich, Germany
| | - Tamas Minarik
- Department of Psychology, Biological Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich, Germany
| | - Birgit Griesmayr
- Department of Psychology, University of Salzburg Salzburg, Austria
| | - Renate Stelzig-Schoeler
- University Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Christian-Doppler-Clinic, Paracelsus-Medical Private University Salzburg, Austria
| | - Wolfgang Aichhorn
- University Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Christian-Doppler-Clinic, Paracelsus-Medical Private University Salzburg, Austria
| | - Paul Sauseng
- Department of Psychology, Biological Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich, Germany
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21
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Sutcliffe G, Harneit A, Tost H, Meyer-Lindenberg A. Neuroimaging Intermediate Phenotypes of Executive Control Dysfunction in Schizophrenia. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY: COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE AND NEUROIMAGING 2016; 1:218-229. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2016.03.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2015] [Revised: 03/11/2016] [Accepted: 03/14/2016] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
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22
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Renes RA, Vink M, van der Weiden A, Prikken M, Koevoets MGJC, Kahn RS, Aarts H, van Haren NEM. Impaired frontal processing during agency inferences in schizophrenia. Psychiatry Res Neuroimaging 2016; 248:134-141. [PMID: 26776080 DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2015.12.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2015] [Revised: 11/24/2015] [Accepted: 12/22/2015] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
People generally experience themselves as the cause of outcomes following from their own actions. Such agency inferences occur fluently and are essential to social interaction. However, schizophrenia patients often experience difficulties in distinguishing their own actions from those of others. Building on recent research into the neural substrates underlying agency inferences in healthy individuals, the present study investigates how these inferences are represented on a neural level in patients with schizophrenia. Thirty-one schizophrenia patients and 31 healthy controls performed an agency inference task while functional magnetic resonance images were obtained. Participants were presented with a task wherein the relationship between their actions and the subsequent outcomes was ambiguous. They received instructions to cause specific outcomes to occur by pressing a key, but the task was designed to match or mismatch the color outcome with the participants' goal. Both groups experienced stronger agency when their goal matched (vs. mismatched) the outcome. However, region of interest analyses revealed that only controls showed the expected involvement of the medial prefrontal cortex and superior frontal gyrus, whereas in patients the agency experience was not related to brain activation. These findings are discussed in light of a hypofrontality model of schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert A Renes
- Department of Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
| | - Matthijs Vink
- Department of Psychiatry of the Brain Center Rudolf Magnus, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Anouk van der Weiden
- Department of Psychiatry of the Brain Center Rudolf Magnus, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Merel Prikken
- Department of Psychiatry of the Brain Center Rudolf Magnus, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Martijn G J C Koevoets
- Department of Psychiatry of the Brain Center Rudolf Magnus, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - René S Kahn
- Department of Psychiatry of the Brain Center Rudolf Magnus, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Henk Aarts
- Department of Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Neeltje E M van Haren
- Department of Psychiatry of the Brain Center Rudolf Magnus, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
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23
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Geisler D, Walton E, Naylor M, Roessner V, Lim KO, Schulz SC, Gollub RL, Calhoun VD, Sponheim SR, Ehrlich S. Brain structure and function correlates of cognitive subtypes in schizophrenia. Psychiatry Res 2015; 234:74-83. [PMID: 26341950 PMCID: PMC4705852 DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2015.08.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2014] [Revised: 07/27/2015] [Accepted: 08/20/2015] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Stable neuropsychological deficits may provide a reliable basis for identifying etiological subtypes of schizophrenia. The aim of this study was to identify clusters of individuals with schizophrenia based on dimensions of neuropsychological performance, and to characterize their neural correlates. We acquired neuropsychological data as well as structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging from 129 patients with schizophrenia and 165 healthy controls. We derived eight cognitive dimensions and subsequently applied a cluster analysis to identify possible schizophrenia subtypes. Analyses suggested the following four cognitive clusters of schizophrenia: (1) Diminished Verbal Fluency, (2) Diminished Verbal Memory and Poor Motor Control, (3) Diminished Face Memory and Slowed Processing, and (4) Diminished Intellectual Function. The clusters were characterized by a specific pattern of structural brain changes in areas such as Wernicke's area, lingual gyrus and occipital face area, and hippocampus as well as differences in working memory-elicited neural activity in several fronto-parietal brain regions. Separable measures of cognitive function appear to provide a method for deriving cognitive subtypes meaningfully related to brain structure and function. Because the present study identified brain-based neural correlates of the cognitive clusters, the proposed groups of individuals with schizophrenia have some external validity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Geisler
- Technische Universität Dresden, Translational Developmental Neuroscience Section, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Dresden, Germany
| | - Esther Walton
- Technische Universität Dresden, Translational Developmental Neuroscience Section, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Dresden, Germany
| | - Melissa Naylor
- Pritzker School of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Veit Roessner
- Technische Universität Dresden, Translational Developmental Neuroscience Section, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Dresden, Germany
| | - Kelvin O Lim
- Minneapolis VA Health Care System & Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States of America
| | - S Charles Schulz
- Minneapolis VA Health Care System & Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States of America
| | - Randy L Gollub
- MGH/MIT/HMS Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, Massachusetts, United States of America,Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Vince D Calhoun
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States of America,The MIND Research Network, Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States of America
| | - Scott R Sponheim
- Minneapolis VA Health Care System & Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States of America
| | - Stefan Ehrlich
- Translational Developmental Neuroscience Section, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany; MGH/MIT/HMS Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, United States of America; Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States of America.
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Brandt CL, Doan NT, Tønnesen S, Agartz I, Hugdahl K, Melle I, Andreassen OA, Westlye LT. Assessing brain structural associations with working-memory related brain patterns in schizophrenia and healthy controls using linked independent component analysis. Neuroimage Clin 2015; 9:253-63. [PMID: 26509112 PMCID: PMC4576364 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2015.08.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2015] [Revised: 07/17/2015] [Accepted: 08/17/2015] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Schizophrenia (SZ) is a psychotic disorder with significant cognitive dysfunction. Abnormal brain activation during cognitive processing has been reported, both in task-positive and task-negative networks. Further, structural cortical and subcortical brain abnormalities have been documented, but little is known about how task-related brain activation is associated with brain anatomy in SZ compared to healthy controls (HC). Utilizing linked independent component analysis (LICA), a data-driven multimodal analysis approach, we investigated structure-function associations in a large sample of SZ (n = 96) and HC (n = 142). We tested for associations between task-positive (fronto-parietal) and task-negative (default-mode) brain networks derived from fMRI activation during an n-back working memory task, and brain structural measures of surface area, cortical thickness, and gray matter volume, and to what extent these associations differed in SZ compared to HC. A significant association (p < .05, corrected for multiple comparisons) was found between a component reflecting the task-positive fronto-parietal network and another component reflecting cortical thickness in fronto-temporal brain regions in SZ, indicating increased activation with increased thickness. Other structure-function associations across, between and within groups were generally moderate and significant at a nominal p-level only, with more numerous and stronger associations in SZ compared to HC. These results indicate a complex pattern of moderate associations between brain activation during cognitive processing and brain morphometry, and extend previous findings of fronto-temporal brain abnormalities in SZ by suggesting a coupling between cortical thickness of these brain regions and working memory-related brain activation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christine Lycke Brandt
- Norwegian Centre for Mental Disorders Research, KG Jebsen Centre for Psychosis Research, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital & Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Nhat Trung Doan
- Norwegian Centre for Mental Disorders Research, KG Jebsen Centre for Psychosis Research, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital & Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Siren Tønnesen
- Norwegian Centre for Mental Disorders Research, KG Jebsen Centre for Psychosis Research, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital & Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Ingrid Agartz
- Norwegian Centre for Mental Disorders Research, KG Jebsen Centre for Psychosis Research, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital & Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway ; Department of Psychiatric Research, Diakonhjemmet Hospital, Diakonhjemmet, Norway ; Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Psychiatry Section, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Kenneth Hugdahl
- Norwegian Centre for Mental Disorders Research, Department of Biological and Medical Psychology, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway ; Division of Psychiatry, Haukeland University Hospital, Haukeland, Norway ; Department of Radiology, Haukeland University Hospital, Haukeland, Norway ; KG Jebsen Centre for Research on Neuropsychiatric Disorders, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
| | - Ingrid Melle
- Norwegian Centre for Mental Disorders Research, KG Jebsen Centre for Psychosis Research, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital & Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Ole A Andreassen
- Norwegian Centre for Mental Disorders Research, KG Jebsen Centre for Psychosis Research, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital & Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Lars T Westlye
- Norwegian Centre for Mental Disorders Research, KG Jebsen Centre for Psychosis Research, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital & Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway ; Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
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25
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Radhu N, Garcia Dominguez L, Farzan F, Richter MA, Semeralul MO, Chen R, Fitzgerald PB, Daskalakis ZJ. Evidence for inhibitory deficits in the prefrontal cortex in schizophrenia. Brain 2014; 138:483-97. [PMID: 25524710 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awu360] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Abnormal gamma-aminobutyric acid inhibitory neurotransmission is a key pathophysiological mechanism underlying schizophrenia. Transcranial magnetic stimulation can be combined with electroencephalography to index long-interval cortical inhibition, a measure of GABAergic receptor-mediated inhibitory neurotransmission from the frontal and motor cortex. In previous studies we have reported that schizophrenia is associated with inhibitory deficits in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex compared to healthy subjects and patients with bipolar disorder. The main objective of the current study was to replicate and extend these initial findings by evaluating long-interval cortical inhibition from the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in patients with schizophrenia compared to patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder. A total of 111 participants were assessed: 38 patients with schizophrenia (average age: 35.71 years, 25 males, 13 females), 27 patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (average age: 36.15 years, 11 males, 16 females) and 46 healthy subjects (average age: 33.63 years, 23 females, 23 males). Long-interval cortical inhibition was measured from the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and motor cortex through combined transcranial magnetic stimulation and electroencephalography. In the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, long-interval cortical inhibition was significantly reduced in patients with schizophrenia compared to healthy subjects (P = 0.004) and not significantly different between patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder and healthy subjects (P = 0.5445). Long-interval cortical inhibition deficits in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex were also significantly greater in patients with schizophrenia compared to patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (P = 0.0465). There were no significant differences in long-interval cortical inhibition across all three groups in the motor cortex. These results demonstrate that long-interval cortical inhibition deficits in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex are specific to patients with schizophrenia and are not a generalized deficit that is shared by disorders of severe psychopathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natasha Radhu
- 1 Temerty Centre for Therapeutic Brain Intervention, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Luis Garcia Dominguez
- 1 Temerty Centre for Therapeutic Brain Intervention, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Faranak Farzan
- 1 Temerty Centre for Therapeutic Brain Intervention, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Margaret A Richter
- 2 Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Mawahib O Semeralul
- 1 Temerty Centre for Therapeutic Brain Intervention, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Robert Chen
- 3 Division of Neurology, Toronto Western Research Institute, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Paul B Fitzgerald
- 4 Monash Alfred Psychiatry Research Centre, The Alfred and Monash University Central Clinical School, Victoria, Australia
| | - Zafiris J Daskalakis
- 1 Temerty Centre for Therapeutic Brain Intervention, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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Løberg EM, Helle S, Nygård M, Berle JØ, Kroken RA, Johnsen E. The Cannabis Pathway to Non-Affective Psychosis may Reflect Less Neurobiological Vulnerability. Front Psychiatry 2014; 5:159. [PMID: 25477825 PMCID: PMC4235385 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2014.00159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2014] [Accepted: 10/24/2014] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
There is a high prevalence of cannabis use reported in non-affective psychosis. Early prospective longitudinal studies conclude that cannabis use is a risk factor for psychosis, and neurochemical studies on cannabis have suggested potential mechanisms for this effect. Recent advances in the field of neuroscience and genetics may have important implications for our understanding of this relationship. Importantly, we need to better understand the vulnerability × cannabis interaction to shed light on the mediators of cannabis as a risk factor for psychosis. Thus, the present study reviews recent literature on several variables relevant for understanding the relationship between cannabis and psychosis, including age of onset, cognition, brain functioning, family history, genetics, and neurological soft signs (NSS) in non-affective psychosis. Compared with non-using non-affective psychosis, the present review shows that there seem to be fewer stable cognitive deficits in patients with cannabis use and psychosis, in addition to fewer NSS and possibly more normalized brain functioning, indicating less neurobiological vulnerability for psychosis. There are, however, some familiar and genetic vulnerabilities present in the cannabis psychosis group, which may influence the cannabis pathway to psychosis by increasing sensitivity to cannabis. Furthermore, an earlier age of onset suggests a different pathway to psychosis in the cannabis-using patients. Two alternative vulnerability models are presented to integrate these seemingly paradoxical findings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Else-Marie Løberg
- Division of Psychiatry, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway
- Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
| | - Siri Helle
- Division of Psychiatry, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway
| | - Merethe Nygård
- Laboratory of Clinical Biochemistry, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway
| | - Jan Øystein Berle
- Division of Psychiatry, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway
| | - Rune A. Kroken
- Division of Psychiatry, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway
| | - Erik Johnsen
- Division of Psychiatry, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway
- Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
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Wu CH, Hwang TJ, Chen YJ, Hsu YC, Lo YC, Liu CM, Hwu HG, Liu CC, Hsieh MH, Chien YL, Chen CM, Tseng WYI. Altered integrity of the right arcuate fasciculus as a trait marker of schizophrenia: a sibling study using tractography-based analysis of the whole brain. Hum Brain Mapp 2014; 36:1065-76. [PMID: 25366810 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.22686] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2014] [Revised: 10/08/2014] [Accepted: 10/27/2014] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Trait markers of schizophrenia aid the dissection of the heterogeneous phenotypes into distinct subtypes and facilitate the genetic underpinning of the disease. The microstructural integrity of the white matter tracts could serve as a trait marker of schizophrenia, and tractography-based analysis (TBA) is the current method of choice. Manual tractography is time-consuming and limits the analysis to preselected fiber tracts. Here, we sought to identify a trait marker of schizophrenia from among 74 fiber tracts across the whole brain using a novel automatic TBA method. Thirty-one patients with schizophrenia, 31 unaffected siblings and 31 healthy controls were recruited to undergo diffusion spectrum magnetic resonance imaging at 3T. Generalized fractional anisotropy (GFA), an index reflecting tract integrity, was computed for each tract and compared among the three groups. Ten tracts were found to exhibit significant differences between the groups with a linear, stepwise order from controls to siblings to patients; they included the right arcuate fasciculus, bilateral fornices, bilateral auditory tracts, left optic radiation, the genu of the corpus callosum, and the corpus callosum to the bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortices, bilateral temporal poles, and bilateral hippocampi. Posthoc between-group analyses revealed that the GFA of the right arcuate fasciculus was significantly decreased in both the patients and unaffected siblings compared to the controls. Furthermore, the GFA of the right arcuate fasciculus exhibited a trend toward positive symptom scores. In conclusion, the right arcuate fasciculus may be a candidate trait marker and deserves further study to verify any genetic association.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chen-Hao Wu
- Institute of Biomedical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan; Center for Optoelectronic Medicine, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
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Walton E, Geisler D, Lee PH, Hass J, Turner JA, Liu J, Sponheim SR, White T, Wassink TH, Roessner V, Gollub RL, Calhoun VD, Ehrlich S. Prefrontal inefficiency is associated with polygenic risk for schizophrenia. Schizophr Bull 2014; 40:1263-71. [PMID: 24327754 PMCID: PMC4193692 DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbt174] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Considering the diverse clinical presentation and likely polygenic etiology of schizophrenia, this investigation examined the effect of polygenic risk on a well-established intermediate phenotype for schizophrenia. We hypothesized that a measure of cumulative genetic risk based on additive effects of many genetic susceptibility loci for schizophrenia would predict prefrontal cortical inefficiency during working memory, a brain-based biomarker for the disorder. The present study combined imaging, genetic and behavioral data obtained by the Mind Clinical Imaging Consortium study of schizophrenia (n = 255). For each participant, we derived a polygenic risk score (PGRS), which was based on over 600 nominally significant single nucleotide polymorphisms, associated with schizophrenia in a separate discovery sample comprising 3322 schizophrenia patients and 3587 control participants. Increased polygenic risk for schizophrenia was associated with neural inefficiency in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex after covarying for the effects of acquisition site, diagnosis, and population stratification. We also provide additional supporting evidence for our original findings using scores based on results from the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium study. Gene ontology analysis of the PGRS highlighted genetic loci involved in brain development and several other processes possibly contributing to disease etiology. Our study permits new insights into the additive effect of hundreds of genetic susceptibility loci on a brain-based intermediate phenotype for schizophrenia. The combined impact of many common genetic variants of small effect are likely to better reveal etiologic mechanisms of the disorder than the study of single common genetic variants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Esther Walton
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Dresden University of Technology, Dresden, Germany
| | - Daniel Geisler
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Dresden University of Technology, Dresden, Germany
| | | | - Johanna Hass
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Dresden University of Technology, Dresden, Germany
| | | | - Jingyu Liu
- The Mind Research Network, Albuquerque, NM
| | - Scott R Sponheim
- Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Minneapolis, MN; Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
| | - Tonya White
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, Netherlands
| | | | - Veit Roessner
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Dresden University of Technology, Dresden, Germany
| | - Randy L Gollub
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA; MGH/MIT/HMS Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA
| | - Vince D Calhoun
- The Mind Research Network, Albuquerque, NM; Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM
| | - Stefan Ehrlich
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Dresden University of Technology, Dresden, Germany; Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA; MGH/MIT/HMS Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA;
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29
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Jiang T, Zhou Y. Brainnetome of schizophrenia: focus on impaired cognitive function. SHANGHAI ARCHIVES OF PSYCHIATRY 2014; 24:3-10. [PMID: 25324595 PMCID: PMC4198886 DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1002-0829.2012.01.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Impaired cognitive function, along with positive and negative symptoms, is a core clinical feature of schizophrenia. Earlier studies suggest that impaired cognitive functioning should be assessed from the perspective of brain networks. The recently developed brainnetome approach to evaluating brain networks—an approach that was initially developed by Chinese scientists—provides a new methodology for studying this issue. In this paper we first introduce the concept of brainnetome. We then review recent progress in developing a brainnetome of impaired cognitive function in people with schizophrenia. The models of the relevant brain networks considered were created using data obtained from functional and anatomical brain imaging technologies at different levels of analysis: networks centered on regions of interest, networks related to specific cognitive functions, whole brain networks, and the attributes of brain networks. Finally, we discuss the current challenges and potential new directions for research about brainnetome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tianzi Jiang
- LIAMA Center for Computational Medicine, National Laboratory of Pattern Recognition, Institute of Automation, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yuan Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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30
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Kuja-Halkola R, D'Onofrio BM, Larsson H, Lichtenstein P. Maternal smoking during pregnancy and adverse outcomes in offspring: genetic and environmental sources of covariance. Behav Genet 2014; 44:456-67. [PMID: 25117564 DOI: 10.1007/s10519-014-9668-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2013] [Accepted: 07/18/2014] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
Maternal smoking during pregnancy (SDP) has been associated with several psychiatric outcomes in the offspring; studies have questioned whether the associations are causal, however. We analyzed all children born in Sweden between 1983 and 2009 to investigate the effect of SDP on multiple indicators of adverse outcomes in three areas: pregnancy outcomes (birth weight, preterm birth and being born small for gestational age), long-term cognitive abilities (low academic achievement and general cognitive ability) and externalizing behaviors (criminal conviction, violent criminal conviction and drug misuse). SDP was associated with all outcomes. Within-family analyses of the pregnancy outcomes were consistent with a causal interpretation as the associations persisted when siblings discordant for SDP were compared. For the cognitive and externalizing outcomes, the results were not consistent with causal effects; when comparing differentially exposed siblings none of the associations remained significant. In quantitative genetic models genetic factors explained the majority of the associations between SDP and cognitive and externalizing outcomes. The results suggest that the associations between SDP in mothers and cognition and externalizing behaviors in their offspring is primarily due to genetic effects that influence the behaviors in both generations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ralf Kuja-Halkola
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, P.O. Box 281, 171 77, Stockholm, Sweden,
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Liu B, Zhang X, Hou B, Li J, Qiu C, Qin W, Yu C, Jiang T. The impact of MIR137 on dorsolateral prefrontal-hippocampal functional connectivity in healthy subjects. Neuropsychopharmacology 2014; 39:2153-60. [PMID: 24625753 PMCID: PMC4104332 DOI: 10.1038/npp.2014.63] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2013] [Revised: 03/07/2014] [Accepted: 03/10/2014] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
A recent mega-analysis combining genome-wide association study data revealed that a variant of microRNA 137 (MIR137) exhibits the most significant association with schizophrenia. Other biological evidence also consistently suggests that MIR137 may have a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. However, the underlying neural mechanism remains unclear. As the disrupted dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) coupling with the hippocampal formation (HF) has been widely observed in schizophrenia patients, DLPFC-HF dysconnectivity can therefore be thought of as a pivotal intermediate phenotype that links genetic variants of psychiatric risk genes to schizophrenia. This study used resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging to test whether the MIR137 variant (rs1625579) impacts DLPFC-HF functional connectivity and cognitive performance in 290 young, healthy Han Chinese individuals. To identify functional connectivity between DLPFC and HF, a seed-based functional connectivity analysis was used. The association between DLPFC-HF connectivity and working memory performance was further examined in individuals with different MIR137 genotypes. The individuals who are homozygous for the MIR137 risk allele (TT), which confers a high risk for schizophrenia, exhibited significantly different DLPFC-HF functional connectivity compared with TG individuals. Moreover, the DLPFC-HF connectivity could predict the working memory performance in MIR137 TG individuals, but not in TT individuals. The current findings obtained in a large sample of healthy participants identified potential neural mechanisms linking MIR137 with the risk of developing schizophrenia via the intermediate phenotype of DLPFC-HF connectivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bing Liu
- Brainnetome Center, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- National Laboratory of Pattern Recognition, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Xiaolong Zhang
- Brainnetome Center, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Bing Hou
- Brainnetome Center, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- National Laboratory of Pattern Recognition, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Jin Li
- Brainnetome Center, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- National Laboratory of Pattern Recognition, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Chengxiang Qiu
- Brainnetome Center, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Wen Qin
- Department of Radiology, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China
| | - Chunshui Yu
- Department of Radiology, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China
| | - Tianzi Jiang
- Brainnetome Center, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- National Laboratory of Pattern Recognition, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
- Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
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Subramaniam K, Luks TL, Garrett C, Chung C, Fisher M, Nagarajan S, Vinogradov S. Intensive cognitive training in schizophrenia enhances working memory and associated prefrontal cortical efficiency in a manner that drives long-term functional gains. Neuroimage 2014; 99:281-92. [PMID: 24867353 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2014.05.057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 111] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2013] [Revised: 05/15/2014] [Accepted: 05/17/2014] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
We investigated whether intensive computerized cognitive training in schizophrenia could improve working memory performance and increase signal efficiency of associated middle frontal gyri (MFG) circuits in a functionally meaningful manner. Thirty schizophrenia participants and 13 healthy comparison participants underwent fMRI scanning during a letter N-back working memory task. Schizophrenia participants were then randomly assigned to either 80 h (16 weeks) of cognitive training or a computer games control condition. After this intervention, participants completed a second fMRI N-back scanning session. At baseline, during 2-back working memory trials, healthy participants showed the largest and most significant activation in bilateral MFG, which correlated with task performance. Schizophrenia participants showed impaired working memory, hypoactivation in left MFG, and no correlation between bilateral MFG signal and task performance. After training, schizophrenia participants improved their 2-back working memory performance and showed increased activation in left MFG. They also demonstrated a significant association between enhanced task performance and right MFG signal, similar to healthy participants. Both task performance and brain activity in right MFG after training predicted better generalized working memory at 6-month follow-up. Furthermore, task performance and brain activity within bilateral MFG predicted better occupational functioning at 6-month follow-up. No such findings were observed in the computer games control participants. Working memory impairments in schizophrenia and its underlying neural correlates in MFG can be improved by intensive computerized cognitive training; these improvements generalize beyond the trained task and are associated with enduring effects on cognition and functioning 6 months after the intervention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karuna Subramaniam
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, CA-94121, USA.
| | - Tracy L Luks
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California, San Francisco, CA-94123, USA
| | - Coleman Garrett
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, CA-94121, USA
| | | | - Melissa Fisher
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, CA-94121, USA
| | - Srikantan Nagarajan
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California, San Francisco, CA-94123, USA
| | - Sophia Vinogradov
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, CA-94121, USA
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Mukkala S, Ilonen T, Koskela J, Nordström T, Loukkola J, Miettunen J, Barnett JH, Murray GK, Jones PB, Heinimaa M, Jääskeläinen E, Mäki P, Moilanen I, Veijola J. Response initiation in young adults at risk for psychosis in the Northern Finland 1986 Birth Cohort. Cogn Neuropsychiatry 2014; 19:226-40. [PMID: 24131203 DOI: 10.1080/13546805.2013.840569] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION This is one of the very few studies to investigate the specific executive function/processing speed component of response initiation in subjects at familial risk (FR) for psychosis, and the first such study in subjects at clinical risk (CR) for psychosis. METHODS Participants (N = 177) were members of the general population-based Northern Finland 1986 Birth Cohort in the following four groups: FR for psychosis (n = 62), CR for psychosis (n = 21), psychosis (n = 25) and control subjects (n = 69). The response initiation of these groups was compared in three different tests: Semantic fluency, Stockings of Cambridge and Spatial working memory. RESULTS The two risk groups did not differ significantly from control group, but differed from, and outperformed the psychosis group in semantic fluency response initiation. CONCLUSIONS Response initiation deficits were not evident in a non-help seeking psychosis high-risk sample.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Mukkala
- a Department of Psychiatry , Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oulu , Oulu , Finland
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34
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Walton E, Liu J, Hass J, White T, Scholz M, Roessner V, Gollub R, Calhoun VD, Ehrlich S. MB-COMT promoter DNA methylation is associated with working-memory processing in schizophrenia patients and healthy controls. Epigenetics 2014; 9:1101-7. [PMID: 24837210 DOI: 10.4161/epi.29223] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Many genetic studies report mixed results both for the associations between COMT polymorphisms and schizophrenia and for the effects of COMT variants on common intermediate phenotypes of the disorder. Reasons for this may include small genetic effect sizes and the modulation of environmental influences. To improve our understanding of the role of COMT in the disease etiology, we investigated the effect of DNA methylation in the MB-COMT promoter on neural activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex during working memory processing as measured by fMRI - an intermediate phenotype for schizophrenia. Imaging and epigenetic data were measured in 102 healthy controls and 82 schizophrenia patients of the Mind Clinical Imaging Consortium (MCIC) study of schizophrenia. Neural activity during the Sternberg Item Recognition Paradigm was acquired with either a 3T Siemens Trio or 1.5T Siemens Sonata and analyzed using the FMRIB Software Library (FSL). DNA methylation measurements were derived from cryo-conserved blood samples. We found a positive association between MB-COMT promoter methylation and neural activity in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in a model using a region-of-interest approach and could confirm this finding in a whole-brain model. This effect was independent of disease status. Analyzing the effect of MB-COMT promoter DNA methylation on a neuroimaging phenotype can provide further evidence for the importance of COMT and epigenetic risk mechanisms in schizophrenia. The latter may represent trans-regulatory or environmental risk factors that can be measured using brain-based intermediate phenotypes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Esther Walton
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry; Translational Developmental Neuroscience Section; TU Dresden; Dresden, Germany
| | - Jingyu Liu
- The Mind Research Network and Lovelace Biomedical and Environmental Research Institute; Albuquerque, NM USA
| | - Johanna Hass
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry; Translational Developmental Neuroscience Section; TU Dresden; Dresden, Germany
| | - Tonya White
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry; Erasmus University; Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Markus Scholz
- Institute for Medical Informatics, Statistics and Epidemiology; University of Leipzig; Leipzig, Germany; LIFE Research Center for Civilization Diseases; University of Leipzig; Leipzig, Germany
| | - Veit Roessner
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry; Translational Developmental Neuroscience Section; TU Dresden; Dresden, Germany
| | - Randy Gollub
- Department of Psychiatry; Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School; Boston, MA USA; MGH/MIT/HMS Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging; Massachusetts General Hospital; Charlestown, MA USA
| | - Vince D Calhoun
- The Mind Research Network and Lovelace Biomedical and Environmental Research Institute; Albuquerque, NM USA; Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering; University of New Mexico; Albuquerque, NM USA
| | - Stefan Ehrlich
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry; Translational Developmental Neuroscience Section; TU Dresden; Dresden, Germany; Department of Psychiatry; Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School; Boston, MA USA; MGH/MIT/HMS Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging; Massachusetts General Hospital; Charlestown, MA USA
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van Erp TG, Guella I, Vawter MP, Turner J, Brown GG, McCarthy G, Greve DN, Glover GH, Calhoun VD, Lim KO, Bustillo JR, Belger A, Ford JM, Mathalon DH, Diaz M, Preda A, Nguyen D, Macciardi F, Potkin SG. Schizophrenia miR-137 locus risk genotype is associated with dorsolateral prefrontal cortex hyperactivation. Biol Psychiatry 2014; 75:398-405. [PMID: 23910899 PMCID: PMC4428556 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2013.06.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2013] [Revised: 06/10/2013] [Accepted: 06/11/2013] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND miR-137 dysregulation has been implicated in the etiology of schizophrenia, but its functional role remains to be determined. METHODS Functional magnetic resonance imaging scans were acquired on 48 schizophrenia patients and 63 healthy volunteers (total sample size N = 111 subjects), with similar mean age and sex distribution, while subjects performed a Sternberg Item Response Paradigm with memory loads of one, three, and five numbers. Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) retrieval activation for the working memory load of three numbers, for which hyperactivation had been shown in schizophrenia patients compared with control subjects, was extracted. The genome-wide association study confirmed schizophrenia risk single nucleotide polymorphism rs1625579 (miR-137 locus) was genotyped (schizophrenia: GG n = 0, GT n = 9, TT n = 39; healthy volunteers: GG = 2, GT n = 15, and TT n = 46). Fisher's exact test examined the effect of diagnosis on rs1625579 allele frequency distribution (p = nonsignificant). Mixed model regression analyses examined the effects of diagnosis and genotype on working memory performance measures and DLPFC activation. RESULTS Patients showed significantly higher left DLPFC retrieval activation on working memory load 3, lower working memory performance, and longer response times compared with controls. There was no effect of genotype on working memory performance or response times in either group. However, individuals with the rs1625579 TT genotype had significantly higher left DLPFC activation than those with the GG/GT genotypes. CONCLUSIONS Our study suggests that the rs1625579 TT (miR-137 locus) schizophrenia risk genotype is associated with the schizophrenia risk phenotype DLPFC hyperactivation commonly considered a measure of brain inefficiency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Theo G.M. van Erp
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, 92617, United States
| | - Ilaria Guella
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, 92617, United States
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Functional Genomics Laboratory University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, 62617, United States
| | - Marquis P. Vawter
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Functional Genomics Laboratory University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, 62617, United States
| | - Jessica Turner
- Mind Research Network, Albuquerque, NM, 87106, United States
- Departments of Psychiatry & Neuroscience, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 87131, United States
| | - Gregory G. Brown
- VA San Diego Healthcare System and Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, CA, 92161, United States
| | - Gregory McCarthy
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06250, United States
| | - Douglas N. Greve
- Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02115
| | - Gary H. Glover
- Department of Radiology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
| | - Vince D. Calhoun
- Mind Research Network, Albuquerque, NM, 87106, United States
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM
| | - Kelvin O. Lim
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55454, United States
| | - Juan R. Bustillo
- Departments of Psychiatry & Neuroscience, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 87131, United States
| | - Aysenil Belger
- Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, United States
| | - Judith M. Ford
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, 94143, United States
| | - Daniel H. Mathalon
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, 94143, United States
| | - Michele Diaz
- Brain Imaging and Analysis Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, 27710, United States
| | - Adrian Preda
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, 92617, United States
| | - Dana Nguyen
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, 92617, United States
| | - Fabio Macciardi
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, 92617, United States
| | - Steven G. Potkin
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, 92617, United States
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- http://www.birncommunity.org
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36
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Motor function deficits in schizophrenia: an fMRI and VBM study. Neuroradiology 2014; 56:413-22. [PMID: 24562867 DOI: 10.1007/s00234-014-1325-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2013] [Accepted: 01/09/2014] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION To investigate whether the motor functional alterations in schizophrenia (SZ) are also associated with structural changes in the related brain areas using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and voxel-based morphometry (VBM). METHODS A sample of 14 right-handed SZ patients and 14 right-handed healthy control subjects matched for age, sex, and education were examined with structural high-resolution T1-weighted MRI; fMRI images were obtained during right index finger-tapping task in the same session. RESULTS fMRI results showed reduced functional activation in the motor areas (contralateral precentral and postcentral gyrus) and ipsilateral cerebellum in SZ subjects as compared to healthy controls (n = 14). VBM analysis also revealed reduced grey matter in motor areas and white matter reduction in cerebellum of SZ subjects as compared to controls. CONCLUSION The present study provides an evidence for a possible association between structural alterations in the motor cortex and disturbed functional activation in the motor areas in persons affected with SZ during a simple finger-tapping task.
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Montojo C, Ibrahim A, Karlsgodt K, Chow C, Hilton A, Jonas R, Vesagas T, Bearden C. Disrupted working memory circuitry and psychotic symptoms in 22q11.2 deletion syndrome. Neuroimage Clin 2014; 4:392-402. [PMID: 24567911 PMCID: PMC3930118 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2014.01.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2013] [Revised: 01/18/2014] [Accepted: 01/21/2014] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11DS) is a recurrent genetic mutation that is highly penetrant for psychosis. Behavioral research suggests that 22q11DS patients exhibit a characteristic neurocognitive phenotype that includes differential impairment in spatial working memory (WM). Notably, spatial WM has also been proposed as an endophenotype for idiopathic psychotic disorder, yet little is known about the neurobiological substrates of WM in 22q11DS. In order to investigate the neural systems engaged during spatial WM in 22q11DS patients, we collected functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data while 41 participants (16 22q11DS patients, 25 demographically matched controls) performed a spatial capacity WM task that included manipulations of delay length and load level. Relative to controls, 22q11DS patients showed reduced neural activation during task performance in the intraparietal sulcus (IPS) and superior frontal sulcus (SFS). In addition, the typical increases in neural activity within spatial WM-relevant regions with greater memory load were not observed in 22q11DS. We further investigated whether neural dysfunction during WM was associated with behavioral WM performance, assessed via the University of Maryland letter-number sequencing (LNS) task, and positive psychotic symptoms, assessed via the Structured Interview for Prodromal Syndromes (SIPS), in 22q11DS patients. WM load activity within IPS and SFS was positively correlated with LNS task performance; moreover, WM load activity within IPS was inversely correlated with the severity of unusual thought content and delusional ideas, indicating that decreased recruitment of working memory-associated neural circuitry is associated with more severe positive symptoms. These results suggest that 22q11DS patients show reduced neural recruitment of brain regions critical for spatial WM function, which may be related to characteristic behavioral manifestations of the disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- C.A. Montojo
- Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, 760 Westwood Plaza, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Department of Psychology, 1285 Franz Hall, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - A. Ibrahim
- Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, 760 Westwood Plaza, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - K.H. Karlsgodt
- Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, Zucker Hillside Hospital, North Shore-LIJ Health System, 350 Community Drive, Manhasset, NY 11030, USA
| | - C. Chow
- Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, 760 Westwood Plaza, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - A.E. Hilton
- Department of Psychology, 1285 Franz Hall, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - R.K. Jonas
- Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, 760 Westwood Plaza, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - T.K. Vesagas
- Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, 760 Westwood Plaza, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - C.E. Bearden
- Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, 760 Westwood Plaza, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Department of Psychology, 1285 Franz Hall, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Brain Research Institute, 695 Charles E Young Drive S, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
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Karlsgodt KH, van Erp TG, Bearden CE, Cannon TD. Altered relationships between age and functional brain activation in adolescents at clinical high risk for psychosis. Psychiatry Res 2014; 221:21-9. [PMID: 24144510 PMCID: PMC3921908 DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2013.08.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2012] [Revised: 08/08/2013] [Accepted: 08/09/2013] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
Schizophrenia is considered a neurodevelopmental disorder, but whether the adolescent period, proximal to onset, is associated with aberrant development in individuals at clinical high risk (CHR) for psychosis is incompletely understood. While abnormal gray and white matter development has been observed, alterations in functional neuroimaging (fMRI) parameters during adolescence as related to conversion to psychosis have not yet been investigated. Twenty CHR individuals and 19 typically developing controls (TDC), (ages 14-21), were recruited from the Center for Assessment and Prevention of Prodromal States (CAPPS) at UCLA. Participants performed a Sternberg-style verbal working memory (WMem) task during fMRI and data were analyzed using a cross-sectional design to test the hypothesis that there is a deviant developmental trajectory in WMem associated neural circuitry in those at risk for psychosis. Eight of the CHR adolescents converted to psychosis within 2 years of initial assessment. A voxel-wise regression examining the relationship between age and activation revealed a significant group-by-age interaction. TDC showed a negative association between age and functional activation in the WMem circuitry while CHR adolescents showed a positive association. Moreover, CHR patients who later converted to overt psychosis showed a distinct pattern of abnormal age-associated activation in the frontal cortex relative to controls, while non-converters showed a more diffuse posterior pattern. Finding that age related variation in baseline patterns of neural activity differentiate individuals who subsequently convert to psychosis from healthy subjects suggests that these differences are likely to be clinically relevant.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katherine H. Karlsgodt
- Department of Psychiatry, Zucker Hillside Hospital, University of California Irvine
,Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, University of California Irvine
| | - Theo G.M. van Erp
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of California Irvine
| | - Carrie E. Bearden
- Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles
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Jiang T, Zhou Y, Liu B, Liu Y, Song M. Brainnetome-wide association studies in schizophrenia: The advances and future. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2013; 37:2818-35. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2013.10.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2012] [Revised: 10/07/2013] [Accepted: 10/09/2013] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
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40
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de Leeuw M, Kahn RS, Zandbelt BB, Widschwendter CG, Vink M. Working memory and default mode network abnormalities in unaffected siblings of schizophrenia patients. Schizophr Res 2013; 150:555-62. [PMID: 24051015 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2013.08.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2012] [Revised: 08/06/2013] [Accepted: 08/15/2013] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Impaired working memory (WM) is a hallmark of schizophrenia. In addition to classical WM regions such as the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and the striatum, dysfunctions in the default-mode network (DMN) contribute to these WM deficits. Unaffected siblings of patients also show WM impairments. However, the nature of the functional deficits underlying these impairments is unclear, mainly because of impaired performance confounding neuroimaging results. METHODS Here, we investigated WM and DMN activity in 23 unaffected siblings of schizophrenia patients and 24 healthy volunteers using fMRI and a Sternberg WM task. WM load was determined prior to scanning to ensure 90% accuracy for all subjects. RESULTS Siblings showed hyperactivation during the encoding phase of WM in the right medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) which is the anterior part of the DMN. No differences were found during the maintenance phase. During the retrieval phase, siblings showed hyperactivation in WM regions: DLPFC, inferior parietal cortex and the striatum. Siblings who showed hyperactivity in the MPFC during encoding showed DLPFC and striatum hyperactivation during retrieval. CONCLUSIONS Our finding of hyperactivation in WM and DMN areas indicates that siblings fail to adequately inhibit DMN activity during demanding cognitive tasks and subsequently hyperactivate WM areas. This failure may reflect dopamine hyperactivity in the striatum which prevents adequate DMN suppression needed for effective WM. This study provides support for the notion that aberrant WM and DMN activation patterns may represent candidate endophenotypes for schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Max de Leeuw
- Brain Center Rudolf Magnus, Department of Psychiatry, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
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41
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Walton E, Geisler D, Hass J, Liu J, Turner J, Yendiki A, Smolka MN, Ho BC, Manoach DS, Gollub RL, Roessner V, Calhoun VD, Ehrlich S. The impact of genome-wide supported schizophrenia risk variants in the neurogranin gene on brain structure and function. PLoS One 2013; 8:e76815. [PMID: 24098564 PMCID: PMC3788740 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0076815] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2013] [Accepted: 08/27/2013] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The neural mechanisms underlying genetic risk for schizophrenia, a highly heritable psychiatric condition, are still under investigation. New schizophrenia risk genes discovered through genome-wide association studies (GWAS), such as neurogranin (NRGN), can be used to identify these mechanisms. In this study we examined the association of two common NRGN risk single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with functional and structural brain-based intermediate phenotypes for schizophrenia. We obtained structural, functional MRI and genotype data of 92 schizophrenia patients and 114 healthy volunteers from the multisite Mind Clinical Imaging Consortium study. Two schizophrenia-associated NRGN SNPs (rs12807809 and rs12541) were tested for association with working memory-elicited dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) activity and surface-wide cortical thickness. NRGN rs12541 risk allele homozygotes (TT) displayed increased working memory-related activity in several brain regions, including the left DLPFC, left insula, left somatosensory cortex and the cingulate cortex, when compared to non-risk allele carriers. NRGN rs12807809 non-risk allele (C) carriers showed reduced cortical gray matter thickness compared to risk allele homozygotes (TT) in an area comprising the right pericalcarine gyrus, the right cuneus, and the right lingual gyrus. Our study highlights the effects of schizophrenia risk variants in the NRGN gene on functional and structural brain-based intermediate phenotypes for schizophrenia. These results support recent GWAS findings and further implicate NRGN in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia by suggesting that genetic NRGN risk variants contribute to subtle changes in neural functioning and anatomy that can be quantified with neuroimaging methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Esther Walton
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Dresden University of Technology, Dresden, Germany
| | - Daniel Geisler
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Dresden University of Technology, Dresden, Germany
| | - Johanna Hass
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Dresden University of Technology, Dresden, Germany
| | - Jingyu Liu
- The MIND Research Network, Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States of America
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States of America
| | - Jessica Turner
- The MIND Research Network, Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States of America
| | - Anastasia Yendiki
- MGH/MIT/HMS Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Michael N. Smolka
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Technology, Dresden, Germany
- Neuroimaging Center, Department of Psychology, University of Technology, Dresden, Germany
| | - Beng-Choon Ho
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, United States of America
| | - Dara S. Manoach
- MGH/MIT/HMS Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, United States of America
| | - Randy L. Gollub
- MGH/MIT/HMS Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, United States of America
| | - Veit Roessner
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Dresden University of Technology, Dresden, Germany
| | - Vince D. Calhoun
- The MIND Research Network, Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States of America
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States of America
| | - Stefan Ehrlich
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Dresden University of Technology, Dresden, Germany
- MGH/MIT/HMS Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
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42
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Thermenos HW, Keshavan MS, Juelich RJ, Molokotos E, Whitfield-Gabrieli S, Brent BK, Makris N, Seidman LJ. A review of neuroimaging studies of young relatives of individuals with schizophrenia: a developmental perspective from schizotaxia to schizophrenia. Am J Med Genet B Neuropsychiatr Genet 2013; 162B:604-35. [PMID: 24132894 DOI: 10.1002/ajmg.b.32170] [Citation(s) in RCA: 83] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2013] [Accepted: 04/24/2013] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
In an effort to identify the developing abnormalities preceding psychosis, Dr. Ming T. Tsuang and colleagues at Harvard expanded Meehl's concept of "schizotaxia," and examined brain structure and function in families affected by schizophrenia (SZ). Here, we systematically review genetic (familial) high-risk (HR) studies of SZ using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), examine how findings inform models of SZ etiology, and suggest directions for future research. Neuroimaging studies of youth at HR for SZ through the age of 30 were identified through a MEDLINE (PubMed) search. There is substantial evidence of gray matter volume abnormalities in youth at HR compared to controls, with an accelerated volume reduction over time in association with symptoms and cognitive deficits. In structural neuroimaging studies, prefrontal cortex (PFC) alterations were the most consistently reported finding in HR. There was also consistent evidence of smaller hippocampal volume. In functional studies, hyperactivity of the right PFC during performance of diverse tasks with common executive demands was consistently reported. The only longitudinal fMRI study to date revealed increasing left middle temporal activity in association with the emergence of psychotic symptoms. There was preliminary evidence of cerebellar and default mode network alterations in association with symptoms. Brain abnormalities in structure, function and neurochemistry are observed in the premorbid period in youth at HR for SZ. Future research should focus on the genetic and environmental contributions to these alterations, determine how early they emerge, and determine whether they can be partially or fully remediated by innovative treatments.
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Affiliation(s)
- H W Thermenos
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; Massachusetts Mental Health Center, Division of Public Psychiatry, Boston, Massachusetts; Department of Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts; Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts
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43
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Walton E, Turner JA, Ehrlich S. Neuroimaging as a potential biomarker to optimize psychiatric research and treatment. Int Rev Psychiatry 2013; 25:619-31. [PMID: 24151806 DOI: 10.3109/09540261.2013.816659] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Complex, polygenic phenotypes in psychiatry hamper our understanding of the underlying molecular pathways and mechanisms of many diseases. The unknown aetiology, together with symptoms which often show a large variability both across individuals and over time and also tend to respond comparatively slowly to medication, can be a problem for patient treatment and drug development. We argue that neuroimaging has the potential to improve psychiatric treatment in two ways. First, by reducing phenotypic complexity, neuroimaging intermediate phenotypes can help to identify disease-related genes and can shed light into the biological mechanisms of known risk genes. Second, quantitative neuroimaging markers - reflecting the spectrum of impairment on a brain-based level - can be used as a more sensitive, reliable and immediate treatment response biomarker. In the end, enhancing both our understanding of the pathophysiology of psychiatric disorders and the prediction of treatment success could eventually optimise current therapy plans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Esther Walton
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Dresden University of Technology , Dresden , Germany
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44
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Memory deficits in schizophrenia: a selective review of functional magnetic resonance imaging (FMRI) studies. Behav Sci (Basel) 2013; 3:330-347. [PMID: 25379242 PMCID: PMC4217593 DOI: 10.3390/bs3030330] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2013] [Revised: 06/18/2013] [Accepted: 06/20/2013] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Schizophrenia is a complex chronic mental illness that is characterized by positive, negative and cognitive symptoms. Cognitive deficits are most predictive of long-term outcomes, with abnormalities in memory being the most robust finding. The advent of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has allowed exploring neural correlates of memory deficits in vivo. In this article, we will give a selective review of fMRI studies probing brain regions and functional networks that are thought to be related to abnormal memory performance in two memory systems prominently affected in schizophrenia; working memory and episodic memory. We revisit the classic "hypofrontality" hypothesis of working memory deficits and explore evidence for frontotemporal dysconnectivity underlying episodic memory abnormalities. We conclude that fMRI studies of memory deficits in schizophrenia are far from universal. However, the current literature does suggest that alterations are not isolated to a few brain regions, but are characterized by abnormalities within large-scale brain networks.
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Squeglia LM, Pulido C, Wetherill RR, Jacobus J, Brown GG, Tapert SF. Brain response to working memory over three years of adolescence: influence of initiating heavy drinking. J Stud Alcohol Drugs 2013; 73:749-60. [PMID: 22846239 DOI: 10.15288/jsad.2012.73.749] [Citation(s) in RCA: 107] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Many adolescents engage in heavy alcohol use. The aim of this study was to disentangle whether brain abnormalities seen in adolescent heavy drinkers are a consequence of heavy drinking, a preexisting risk factor for initiation of alcohol use, or both. METHOD Study 1 used cross-sectional functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) visual working-memory (VWM) data from 15- to 19-year-olds (20 heavy drinkers, 20 controls) to identify brain regions affected by heavy adolescent alcohol use. Study 2 used longitudinal fMRI VWM data from 12- to 16-year-olds imaged before the onset of drinking and imaged again on the same scanner approximately 3 years later. Those who had transitioned into heavy drinking (n = 20) were matched to continuous nondrinkers (n = 20) on baseline alcohol risk and developmental factors (N = 40; 80 scans). RESULTS Study 1 found that heavy drinkers exhibited more frontal and parietal but less occipital activation than controls, defining the regions of interest for Study 2. In Study 2, adolescents who later transitioned into heavy drinking showed less fMRI response contrast at baseline than continuous nondrinkers, which increased after the onset of heavy drinking, in frontal (1,431 μL, p = .003; η² = .19) and parietal (810 μL, p = .005; η²= .23) regions, as in Study 1. Lower baseline activation in the frontal and parietal regions predicted subsequent substance use, more so than commonly observed predictors of youth drinking (p < .05). CONCLUSIONS Adolescents who initiated heavy drinking showed different brain activation before the onset of drinking, then less efficient information processing after high-dose alcohol use started. This suggests neural response patterns that could be risk factors for future substance use and also supports prior neuropsychological reports indicating that initiating heavy episodic drinking in adolescence may be followed by subtle alterations in brain functioning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lindsay M Squeglia
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, San Diego, California, USA
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46
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Walton E, Turner J, Gollub RL, Manoach DS, Yendiki A, Ho BC, Sponheim SR, Calhoun VD, Ehrlich S. Cumulative genetic risk and prefrontal activity in patients with schizophrenia. Schizophr Bull 2013; 39:703-11. [PMID: 22267534 PMCID: PMC3627773 DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbr190] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
The lack of consistency of genetic associations in highly heritable mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia, remains a challenge in molecular psychiatry. Because clinical phenotypes for psychiatric disorders are often ill defined, considerable effort has been made to relate genetic polymorphisms to underlying physiological aspects of schizophrenia (so called intermediate phenotypes), that may be more reliable. Given the polygenic etiology of schizophrenia, the aim of this work was to form a measure of cumulative genetic risk and study its effect on neural activity during working memory (WM) using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Neural activity during the Sternberg Item Recognition Paradigm was measured in 79 schizophrenia patients and 99 healthy controls. Participants were genotyped, and a genetic risk score (GRS), which combined the additive effects of 41 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from 34 risk genes for schizophrenia, was calculated. These risk SNPs were chosen according to the continuously updated meta-analysis of genetic studies on schizophrenia available at www.schizophreniaresearchforum.org. We found a positive relationship between GRS and left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex inefficiency during WM processing. GRS was not correlated with age, performance, intelligence, or medication effects and did not differ between acquisition sites, gender, or diagnostic groups. Our study suggests that cumulative genetic risk, combining the impact of many genes with small effects, is associated with a known brain-based intermediate phenotype for schizophrenia. The GRS approach could provide an advantage over studying single genes in studies focusing on the genetic basis of polygenic conditions such as neuropsychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Esther Walton
- MGH/MIT/HMS Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA,Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Dresden University of Technology, Dresden, Germany
| | | | - Randy L. Gollub
- MGH/MIT/HMS Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA,Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA
| | - Dara S. Manoach
- MGH/MIT/HMS Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA,Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA
| | - Anastasia Yendiki
- MGH/MIT/HMS Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA
| | - Beng-Choon Ho
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
| | - Scott R. Sponheim
- Department of Psychiatry and the Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
| | - Vince D. Calhoun
- The Mind Research Network, Albuquerque, NM,Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM
| | - Stefan Ehrlich
- MGH/MIT/HMS Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA,Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Dresden University of Technology, Dresden, Germany,Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA,To whom correspondence should be addressed; Translational Developmental Neuroscience Section, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Dresden University of Technology, Fetscherstraße 74, 01307 Dresden, Germany; tel: +49 (0)351-458-2244, fax: +49 (0)351-458-57 54, e-mail:
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Liddle EB, Bates AT, Das D, White TP, Groom MJ, Jansen M, Jackson GM, Hollis C, Liddle PF. Inefficient cerebral recruitment as a vulnerability marker for schizophrenia. Psychol Med 2013; 43:169-182. [PMID: 22578475 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291712000992] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Patients with schizophrenia and their first-degree relatives exhibit both abnormally diminished and increased neural activation during cognitive tasks. In particular, excessive task-related activity is often observed when tasks are easy, suggesting that inefficient cerebral recruitment may be a marker of vulnerability for schizophrenia. This hypothesis might best be tested using a very easy task, thus avoiding confounding by individual differences in task difficulty. METHOD Eighteen people with schizophrenia, 18 unaffected full siblings of patients with schizophrenia and 26 healthy controls performed an easy auditory target-detection task in a 3-T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner. Groups were matched for accuracy on the task. Blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) responses to non-target stimuli in participants with vulnerability for schizophrenia (siblings and patients) were compared with those of healthy controls, and those of patients with those of unaffected siblings. BOLD responses to targets were compared with baseline, across groups. RESULTS Subjects with vulnerability for schizophrenia showed significant hyperactivation to non-targets in brain areas activated by targets in all groups, in addition to reduced deactivation to non-targets in areas suppressed by targets in all groups. Siblings showed greater activation than patients to non-targets in the medial frontal cortex. Patients exhibited significantly longer reaction times (RTs) than unaffected siblings and healthy controls. CONCLUSIONS Inefficient cerebral recruitment is a vulnerability marker for schizophrenia, marked by reduced suppression of brain areas normally deactivated in response to task stimuli, and increased activation of areas normally activated in response to task stimuli. Moreover, siblings show additional activation in the medial frontal cortex that may be protective.
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Affiliation(s)
- E B Liddle
- Division of Psychiatry, Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham, UK.
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48
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Small-world networks in individuals at ultra-high risk for psychosis and first-episode schizophrenia during a working memory task. Neurosci Lett 2012; 535:35-9. [PMID: 23262086 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2012.11.051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2012] [Revised: 11/13/2012] [Accepted: 11/29/2012] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Disturbances of functional interaction between different brain regions have been hypothesized to be the major pathophysiological mechanism underlying the cognitive deficits of schizophrenia. We investigated the small-world functional networks in individuals at ultra-high risk (UHR) for psychosis, first-episode schizophrenia (FESPR) patients, and healthy controls. All participants underwent the electroencephalogram during a control task and a working memory (WM) task. Small-world properties of the theta band were reduced in FESPR relative to controls during the WM task. Small-worldness of the UHR during the WM task exhibited intermediate value between that of controls and FESPR. These results imply that the suboptimal organization of the brain network may play a pivotal role in the schizophrenia pathophysiology.
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49
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Jogia J, Dima D, Kumari V, Frangou S. Frontopolar cortical inefficiency may underpin reward and working memory dysfunction in bipolar disorder. World J Biol Psychiatry 2012; 13:605-15. [PMID: 21812622 DOI: 10.3109/15622975.2011.585662] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Emotional dysregulation in bipolar disorder is thought to arise from dysfunction within prefrontal cortical regions involved in cognitive control coupled with increased or aberrant activation within regions engaged in emotional processing. The aim of this study was to determine the common and distinct patterns of functional brain abnormalities during reward and working memory processing in patients with bipolar disorder. METHODS Participants were 36 euthymic bipolar disorder patients and 37 healthy comparison subjects matched for age, sex and IQ. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was conducted during the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) and the n-back working memory task. RESULTS During both tasks, patients with bipolar disorder demonstrated a pattern of inefficient engagement within the ventral frontopolar prefrontal cortex with evidence of segregation along the medial-lateral dimension for reward and working memory processing, respectively. Moreover, patients also showed greater activation in the anterior cingulate cortex during the Iowa Gambling Task and in the insula during the n-back task. CONCLUSIONS Our data implicate ventral frontopolar dysfunction as a core abnormality underpinning bipolar disorder and confirm that overactivation in regions involved in emotional arousal is present even in tasks that do not typically engage emotional systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jigar Jogia
- Section of Neurobiology of Psychosis, Department of Psychosis Studies, Kings College London, London, UK.
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50
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Kyriakopoulos M, Dima D, Roiser JP, Corrigall R, Barker GJ, Frangou S. Abnormal functional activation and connectivity in the working memory network in early-onset schizophrenia. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2012; 51:911-20.e2. [PMID: 22917204 DOI: 10.1016/j.jaac.2012.06.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2012] [Revised: 06/26/2012] [Accepted: 06/27/2012] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Disruption within the working memory (WM) neural network is considered an integral feature of schizophrenia. The WM network, and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) in particular, undergo significant remodeling in late adolescence. Potential interactions between developmental changes in the WM network and disease-related processes for schizophrenia remain unclear. The aim of this study was to determine whether DLPFC activation and functional connectivity are impaired during WM in patients with early-onset schizophrenia (EOS; age of onset <18 years). METHOD We used functional magnetic resonance imaging and psychophysiological interaction analysis to respectively measure blood oxygenation level-dependent signal and to derive functional connectivity estimates in response to the two-back WM task from 25 youths with EOS and 20 matched healthy adolescents. RESULTS Compared with healthy adolescents, patients with EOS showed reduced engagement of the DLPFC, the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), and frontal operculum, and had reduced DLPFC connectivity within the WM network. Patients with EOS showed abnormal reduction in the coupling of the DLPFC with the ACC, the inferior parietal lobule, and the middle occipital gyrus. In contrast to healthy adolescents, patients with EOS expressed age-related decrease in the activity of the DLPFC and an increase in its connectivity with the ACC. CONCLUSIONS Patients with EOS show dysfunctional engagement and reduced integration within the WM neural network. The pattern of abnormal age-related correlations in DLPFC activity and connectivity suggests that schizophrenia-related processes have an impact on brain regions that show significant late developmental changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marinos Kyriakopoulos
- Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London and Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, Maudsley Hospital, UK
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