1
|
Türk Y, Devecioğlu İ, Küskün A, Öge C, Beyazyüz E, Albayrak Y. ROI-based analysis of diffusion indices in healthy subjects and subjects with deficit or non-deficit syndrome schizophrenia. Psychiatry Res Neuroimaging 2023; 336:111726. [PMID: 37925764 DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2023.111726] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2023] [Revised: 09/29/2023] [Accepted: 10/14/2023] [Indexed: 11/07/2023]
Abstract
We analyzed DTI data involving 22 healthy subjects (HC), 15 patients with deficit syndrome schizophrenia (DSZ), and 25 patients with non-deficit syndrome schizophrenia (NDSZ). We used a 1.5-T MRI scanner to collect diffusion-weighted images and T1 images, which were employed to correct distortions and deformations within the diffusion-weighted images. For 156 regions of interest (ROI), we calculated the average fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusion (MD), and radial diffusion (RD). Each ROI underwent a group-wise comparison using permutation F-test, followed by post hoc pairwise comparisons with Bonferroni correction. In general, we observed lower FA in both schizophrenia groups compared to HC (i.e., HC>(DSZ=NDSZ)), while MD and RD showed the opposite pattern. Notably, specific ROIs with reduced FA in schizophrenia patients included bilateral nucleus accumbens, left fusiform area, brain stem, anterior corpus callosum, left rostral and caudal anterior cingulate, right posterior cingulate, left thalamus, left hippocampus, left inferior temporal cortex, right superior temporal cortex, left pars triangularis and right lingual gyrus. Significantly, the right cuneus exhibited lower FA in the DSZ group compared to other groups ((HC=NDSZ)>DSZ), without affecting MD and RD. These results indicate that compromised neural integrity in the cuneus may contribute to the pathophysiological distinctions between DSZ and NDSZ.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yaşar Türk
- Radiology Department, Medical Faculty, Tekirdağ Namık Kemal University. Namik Kemal Mh., Kampus Cd., Suleymanpasa, Tekirdag 59100, Turkey; Radiology Department, İstanbul Health and Technology University Hospital, Kaptanpasa Mh., Darulaceze Cd., Sisli, İstanbul 34384, Turkey
| | - İsmail Devecioğlu
- Biomedical Engineering Department, Çorlu Faculty of Engineering, Tekirdağ Namık Kemal University, NKU Corlu Muhendislik Fakultesi, Silahtaraga Mh., Çorlu, Tekirdağ 59860, Turkey.
| | - Atakan Küskün
- Radiology Department, Medical Faculty, Kırklareli University, Cumhuriyet Mh., Kofcaz Yolu, Kayali Yerleskesi, Merkezi Derslikler 2, No 39/L, Merkez, Kırklareli, Turkey
| | - Cem Öge
- Psychiatry Department, Çorlu State Hospital, Zafer, Mah. Bülent Ecevit Blv. No:33, Çorlu, Tekirdağ 59850, Turkey
| | - Elmas Beyazyüz
- Psychiatry Department, Medical Faculty, Tekirdağ Namık Kemal University. Namik Kemal Mh., Kampus Cd., Suleymanpasa, Tekirdag 59100, Turkey
| | - Yakup Albayrak
- Psychiatry Department, Medical Faculty, Tekirdağ Namık Kemal University. Namik Kemal Mh., Kampus Cd., Suleymanpasa, Tekirdag 59100, Turkey
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Gao J, Jiang R, Tang X, Chen J, Yu M, Zhou C, Wang X, Zhang H, Huang C, Yang Y, Zhang X, Cui Z, Zhang X. A neuromarker for deficit syndrome in schizophrenia from a combination of structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging. CNS Neurosci Ther 2023; 29:3774-3785. [PMID: 37288482 PMCID: PMC10651988 DOI: 10.1111/cns.14297] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2023] [Revised: 05/26/2023] [Accepted: 05/26/2023] [Indexed: 06/09/2023] Open
Abstract
AIM Deficit schizophrenia (DS), defined by primary and enduring negative symptoms, has been proposed as a promising homogeneous subtype of schizophrenia. It has been demonstrated that unimodal neuroimaging characteristics of DS were different from non-deficit schizophrenia (NDS), however, whether multimodal-based neuroimaging features could identify deficit syndrome remains to be determined. METHODS Functional and structural multimodal magnetic resonance imaging of DS, NDS and healthy controls were scanned. Voxel-based features of gray matter volume, fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations, and regional homogeneity were extracted. The support vector machine classification models were constructed using these features separately and jointly. The most discriminative features were defined as the first 10% of features with the greatest weights. Moreover, relevance vector regression was applied to explore the predictive values of these top-weighted features in predicting negative symptoms. RESULTS The multimodal classifier achieved a higher accuracy (75.48%) compared with the single modal model in distinguishing DS from NDS. The most predictive brain regions were mainly located in the default mode and visual networks, exhibiting differences between functional and structural features. Further, the identified discriminative features significantly predicted scores of diminished expressivity factor in DS but not NDS. CONCLUSIONS The present study demonstrated that local properties of brain regions extracted from multimodal imaging data could distinguish DS from NDS with a machine learning-based approach and confirmed the relationship between distinctive features and the negative symptoms subdomain. These findings may improve the identification of potential neuroimaging signatures and improve the clinical assessment of the deficit syndrome.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ju Gao
- Institute of Mental HealthSuzhou Psychiatric Hospital, The Affiliated Guangji Hospital of Soochow UniversitySuzhouChina
- Department of Geriatric PsychiatryNanjing Brain Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical UniversityNanjingChina
| | - Rongtao Jiang
- Department of Radiology & Biomedical ImagingYale School of MedicineNew HavenConnecticutUSA
| | - Xiaowei Tang
- Department of PsychiatryWutaishan Hospital of YangzhouYangzhouChina
| | - Jiu Chen
- Department of Geriatric PsychiatryNanjing Brain Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical UniversityNanjingChina
| | - Miao Yu
- Department of Geriatric PsychiatryNanjing Brain Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical UniversityNanjingChina
| | - Chao Zhou
- Department of Geriatric PsychiatryNanjing Brain Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical UniversityNanjingChina
| | - Xiang Wang
- Medical Psychological Institute of the Second Xiangya HospitalChangshaChina
| | - Hongying Zhang
- Department of RadiologySubei People's Hospital of Jiangsu ProvinceYangzhouChina
| | - Chengbing Huang
- Department of Geriatric PsychiatryNanjing Brain Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical UniversityNanjingChina
- Department of PsychiatryHuai'an No. 3 People's HospitalHuai'anChina
| | - Yong Yang
- Institute of Mental HealthSuzhou Psychiatric Hospital, The Affiliated Guangji Hospital of Soochow UniversitySuzhouChina
| | - Xiaobin Zhang
- Institute of Mental HealthSuzhou Psychiatric Hospital, The Affiliated Guangji Hospital of Soochow UniversitySuzhouChina
| | - Zaixu Cui
- Chinese Institute for Brain ResearchBeijingChina
| | - Xiangrong Zhang
- Department of Geriatric PsychiatryNanjing Brain Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical UniversityNanjingChina
- Department of PsychiatryThe Affiliated Xuzhou Oriental Hospital of Xuzhou Medical UniversityXuzhouChina
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Gangl N, Conring F, Federspiel A, Wiest R, Walther S, Stegmayer K. Resting-state perfusion in motor and fronto-limbic areas is linked to diminished expression of emotion and speech in schizophrenia. SCHIZOPHRENIA (HEIDELBERG, GERMANY) 2023; 9:51. [PMID: 37573445 PMCID: PMC10423240 DOI: 10.1038/s41537-023-00384-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2023] [Accepted: 07/25/2023] [Indexed: 08/14/2023]
Abstract
Negative symptoms (NS) are a core component of schizophrenia affecting community functioning and quality of life. We tested neural correlates of NS considering NS factors and consensus subdomains. We assessed NS using the Clinical Assessment Interview for Negative Symptoms and the Scale for Assessment of Negative Symptoms. Arterial spin labeling was applied to measure resting-state cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in 47 schizophrenia patients and 44 healthy controls. Multiple regression analyses calculated the relationship between rCBF and NS severity. We found an association between diminished expression (DE) and brain perfusion within the cerebellar anterior lobe and vermis, and the pre-, and supplementary motor area. Blunted affect was linked to fusiform gyrus and alogia to fronto-striatal rCBF. In contrast, motivation and pleasure was not associated with rCBF. These results highlight the key role of motor areas for DE. Considering NS factors and consensus subdomains may help identifying specific pathophysiological pathways of NS.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Nicole Gangl
- Translational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Bern, Switzerland.
- Graduate School for Health Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
| | - Frauke Conring
- Translational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Bern, Switzerland
- Graduate School for Health Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Andrea Federspiel
- Translational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Roland Wiest
- Support Center of Advanced Neuroimaging (SCAN), University Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Neuroradiology, Inselspital, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Sebastian Walther
- Translational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Katharina Stegmayer
- Translational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Bern, Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Giordano GM, Pezzella P, Giuliani L, Fazio L, Mucci A, Perrottelli A, Blasi G, Amore M, Rocca P, Rossi A, Bertolino A, Galderisi S. Resting-State Brain Activity Dysfunctions in Schizophrenia and Their Associations with Negative Symptom Domains: An fMRI Study. Brain Sci 2023; 13:brainsci13010083. [PMID: 36672064 PMCID: PMC9856573 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci13010083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2022] [Revised: 12/07/2022] [Accepted: 12/22/2022] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
The aim of the present study was to examine the neurobiological correlates of the two negative symptom domains of schizophrenia, the Motivational Deficit domain (including avolition, anhedonia, and asociality) and the Expressive Deficit domain (including blunted affect and alogia), focusing on brain areas that are most commonly found to be associated with negative symptoms in previous literature. Resting-state (rs) fMRI data were analyzed in 62 subjects affected by schizophrenia (SZs) and 46 healthy controls (HCs). The SZs, compared to the HCs, showed higher rs brain activity in the right inferior parietal lobule and the right temporoparietal junction, and lower rs brain activity in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, the bilateral anterior dorsal cingulate cortex, and the ventral and dorsal caudate. Furthermore, in the SZs, the rs brain activity in the left orbitofrontal cortex correlated with negative symptoms (r = -0.436, p = 0.006), in particular with the Motivational Deficit domain (r = -0.424, p = 0.002), even after controlling for confounding factors. The left ventral caudate correlated with negative symptoms (r = -0.407, p = 0.003), especially with the Expressive Deficit domain (r = -0.401, p = 0.003); however, these results seemed to be affected by confounding factors. In line with the literature, our results demonstrated that the two negative symptom domains might be underpinned by different neurobiological mechanisms.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Giulia Maria Giordano
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, 80138 Naples, Italy
| | - Pasquale Pezzella
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, 80138 Naples, Italy
| | - Luigi Giuliani
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, 80138 Naples, Italy
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +39-0815666512
| | - Leonardo Fazio
- Department of Basic Medical Science, Neuroscience and Sense Organs, University of Bari ‘Aldo Moro’, 70124 Bari, Italy
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, LUM University, 70010 Casamassima, Italy
| | - Armida Mucci
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, 80138 Naples, Italy
| | - Andrea Perrottelli
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, 80138 Naples, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Blasi
- Department of Basic Medical Science, Neuroscience and Sense Organs, University of Bari ‘Aldo Moro’, 70124 Bari, Italy
| | - Mario Amore
- Department of Neurosciences, Rehabilitation, Ophthalmology, Genetics and Maternal and Child Health, Section of Psychiatry, University of Genoa, 16132 Genoa, Italy
| | - Paola Rocca
- Department of Neuroscience, Section of Psychiatry, University of Turin, 10126 Turin, Italy
| | - Alessandro Rossi
- Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences, Section of Psychiatry, University of L’Aquila, 67100 L’Aquila, Italy
| | - Alessandro Bertolino
- Department of Basic Medical Science, Neuroscience and Sense Organs, University of Bari ‘Aldo Moro’, 70124 Bari, Italy
| | - Silvana Galderisi
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, 80138 Naples, Italy
| | | |
Collapse
|
5
|
Larsen EM, Donaldson KR, Jonas KG, Lian W, Bromet EJ, Kotov R, Mohanty A. Pleasant and unpleasant odor identification ability is associated with distinct dimensions of negative symptoms transdiagnostically in psychotic disorders. Schizophr Res 2022; 248:183-193. [PMID: 36084492 PMCID: PMC10774004 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2022.08.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2021] [Revised: 07/12/2022] [Accepted: 08/20/2022] [Indexed: 10/14/2022]
Abstract
Negative symptoms are among the greatest sources of functional impairment for individuals with schizophrenia, yet their mechanisms remain poorly understood. Olfactory impairment is associated with negative symptoms. The processing of pleasant olfactory stimuli is subserved by reward-related neural circuitry while unpleasant olfactory processing is subserved by emotion-related neural circuitry, suggesting that these two odor dimensions may offer a window into differential mechanisms of negative symptoms. We examined whether pleasant and unpleasant odor identification bears differential relationships with avolition and inexpressivity dimensions of negative symptoms, whether these relationships are transdiagnostic, and whether pleasant and unpleasant odor processing also relate differently to other domains of functioning in a sample of individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia (N = 54), other psychotic disorders (N = 65), and never-psychotic adults (N = 160). Hierarchical regressions showed that pleasant odor identification was uniquely associated with avolition, while unpleasant odor identification was uniquely associated with inexpressivity. These relationships were largely transdiagnostic across groups. Additionally, pleasant and unpleasant odor identification displayed signs of specificity with other functional and cognitive measures. These results align with past work suggesting dissociable pathomechanisms of negative symptoms and provide a potential avenue for future work using valence-specific olfactory dysfunction as a semi-objective and low-cost marker for understanding and predicting the severity of specific negative symptom profiles.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Emmett M. Larsen
- Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY
| | | | - Katherine G. Jonas
- Department of Psychiatry, Stony Brook University School of Medicine, Stony Brook, NY
| | - Wenxuan Lian
- Department of Applied Mathematics and Statistics, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY
| | - Evelyn J. Bromet
- Department of Psychiatry, Stony Brook University School of Medicine, Stony Brook, NY
| | - Roman Kotov
- Department of Psychiatry, Stony Brook University School of Medicine, Stony Brook, NY
| | - Aprajita Mohanty
- Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Kaliuzhna M, Kirschner M, Carruzzo F, Hartmann-Riemer MN, Bischof M, Seifritz E, Tobler PN, Kaiser S. How far to go in deconstructing negative symptoms? Behavioural and neural level evidence for the amotivation domain. Schizophr Res 2021; 236:41-47. [PMID: 34390980 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2021.08.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2020] [Revised: 06/06/2021] [Accepted: 08/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Negative symptoms in schizophrenia are conceptualised as loading onto two factors: amotivation and diminished expression, which relate to different behavioural and neural markers. This distinction has proven useful for understanding the cognitive, motivational and neural mechanisms involved in negative symptoms, and for the development of treatments. Recently, it has been advocated that an even finer distinction into five subdomains is needed to understand the mechanisms underlying negative symptoms, and to prevent masking specific treatment and intervention effects. However, it is currently unclear whether such a fine-grained approach offers additional insights grounded in theory. In the present work, we focused on the factor amotivation, which has been shown to selectively correlate with the propensity to discount rewards in the face of effort and with the activity in the ventral striatum during reward anticipation. In a reanalysis of these studies we explored whether subdomains of amotivation - avolition, asociality, anhedonia - showed preferential correlation with these previously identified behavioural and neural markers. We show that for both behavioural and neural markers, a fine-grained model with the three subdomains did not better explain the data than a model with the amotivation factor only. Moreover, none of the three subdomains correlated significantly more or less with the behavioural or neural markers. Thus, no additional information was gained on amotivation in schizophrenia by selectively looking at its three subdomains. Consequently, the two-factor solution currently remains a valid option for the study of negative symptoms and further research is needed for behavioural and neural validation of the five-factor model.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mariia Kaliuzhna
- Clinical and Experimental Psychopathology Group, Department of Psychiatry, University of Geneva, Switzerland.
| | - Matthias Kirschner
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric Hospital, University of Zurich, Switzerland; Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | - Fabien Carruzzo
- Clinical and Experimental Psychopathology Group, Department of Psychiatry, University of Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Matthias N Hartmann-Riemer
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric Hospital, University of Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Martin Bischof
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric Hospital, University of Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Erich Seifritz
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric Hospital, University of Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Philippe N Tobler
- Laboratory for Social and Neural Systems Research, Department of Economics, University of Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Stefan Kaiser
- Clinical and Experimental Psychopathology Group, Department of Psychiatry, University of Geneva, Switzerland; Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric Hospital, University of Zurich, Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Rampino A, Torretta S, Gelao B, Veneziani F, Iacoviello M, Marakhovskaya A, Masellis R, Andriola I, Sportelli L, Pergola G, Minelli A, Magri C, Gennarelli M, Vita A, Beaulieu JM, Bertolino A, Blasi G. Evidence of an interaction between FXR1 and GSK3β polymorphisms on levels of Negative Symptoms of Schizophrenia and their response to antipsychotics. Eur Psychiatry 2021; 64:e39. [PMID: 33866994 PMCID: PMC8260562 DOI: 10.1192/j.eurpsy.2021.26] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWASs) have identified several genes associated with Schizophrenia (SCZ) and exponentially increased knowledge on the genetic basis of the disease. In addition, products of GWAS genes interact with neuronal factors coded by genes lacking association, such that this interaction may confer risk for specific phenotypes of this brain disorder. In this regard, fragile X mental retardation syndrome-related 1 (FXR1) gene has been GWAS associated with SCZ. FXR1 protein is regulated by glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK3β), which has been implicated in pathophysiology of SCZ and response to antipsychotics (APs). rs496250 and rs12630592, two eQTLs (Expression Quantitative Trait Loci) of FXR1 and GSK3β, respectively, interact on emotion stability and amygdala/prefrontal cortex activity during emotion processing. These two phenotypes are associated with Negative Symptoms (NSs) of SCZ suggesting that the interaction between these SNPs may also affect NS severity and responsiveness to medication. METHODS To test this hypothesis, in two independent samples of patients with SCZ, we investigated rs496250 by rs12630592 interaction on NS severity and response to APs. We also tested a putative link between APs administration and FXR1 expression, as already reported for GSK3β expression. RESULTS We found that rs496250 and rs12630592 interact on NS severity. We also found evidence suggesting interaction of these polymorphisms also on response to APs. This interaction was not present when looking at positive and general psychopathology scores. Furthermore, chronic olanzapine administration led to a reduction of FXR1 expression in mouse frontal cortex. DISCUSSION Our findings suggest that, like GSK3β, FXR1 is affected by APs while shedding new light on the role of the FXR1/GSK3β pathway for NSs of SCZ.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Antonio Rampino
- Group of Psychiatric Neuroscience, Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neuroscience and Sense Organs, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy.,Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Consorziale Policlinico, Bari, Italy
| | - Silvia Torretta
- Group of Psychiatric Neuroscience, Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neuroscience and Sense Organs, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy
| | - Barbara Gelao
- Group of Psychiatric Neuroscience, Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neuroscience and Sense Organs, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy
| | - Federica Veneziani
- Group of Psychiatric Neuroscience, Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neuroscience and Sense Organs, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy.,Department of Pharmacology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Matteo Iacoviello
- Group of Psychiatric Neuroscience, Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neuroscience and Sense Organs, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy
| | | | - Rita Masellis
- Group of Psychiatric Neuroscience, Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neuroscience and Sense Organs, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy
| | - Ileana Andriola
- Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Consorziale Policlinico, Bari, Italy
| | - Leonardo Sportelli
- Group of Psychiatric Neuroscience, Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neuroscience and Sense Organs, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy
| | - Giulio Pergola
- Group of Psychiatric Neuroscience, Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neuroscience and Sense Organs, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy.,Lieber Institute for Brain Development, Johns Hopkins Medical Campus, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Alessandra Minelli
- Department of Molecular and Translational Medicine, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy.,Genetics Unit, IRCCS Istituto Centro San Giovanni di Dio Fatebenefratelli, Brescia, Italy
| | - Chiara Magri
- Department of Molecular and Translational Medicine, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy
| | - Massimo Gennarelli
- Department of Molecular and Translational Medicine, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy.,Genetics Unit, IRCCS Istituto Centro San Giovanni di Dio Fatebenefratelli, Brescia, Italy
| | - Antonio Vita
- Department of Molecular and Translational Medicine, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy.,Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, ASST Spedali Civili of Brescia, Brescia, Italy
| | | | - Alessandro Bertolino
- Group of Psychiatric Neuroscience, Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neuroscience and Sense Organs, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy.,Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Consorziale Policlinico, Bari, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Blasi
- Group of Psychiatric Neuroscience, Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neuroscience and Sense Organs, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy.,Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Consorziale Policlinico, Bari, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
A cognitive model of diminished expression in schizophrenia: The interface of metacognition, cognitive symptoms and language disturbances. J Psychiatr Res 2020; 131:169-176. [PMID: 32979692 PMCID: PMC8100971 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2020.09.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2020] [Revised: 09/06/2020] [Accepted: 09/11/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
The resistance of negative symptoms to pharmacologic treatment has spurred interest in understanding the psychological factors that contribute to their formation and persistence. However, little is understood about the psychological processes that reinforce and sustain the negative symptoms domain of diminished expression. Prior research has shown that higher levels of diminished expression relate to deficits in metacognitive capacity. We propose a more complex model in which diminished expression occurs when impairments in metacognitive self-reflectivity, alterations in higher-order language structure, and cognitive symptoms interact and thus interfere with persons' ability to understand and express emotions in ways others can recognize. Individuals with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders (N = 201) provided personal narratives detailing their life story and reflections about their mental illness. Self-reflectivity was measured with the Metacognition Assessment Scale-Abbreviated, and situation models were extracted from participants' personal narratives via Coh-Metrix 3.0, an automated program that calculates language indices. Diminished expression and cognitive symptoms were measured with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale. Structural equation models (SEM) examined whether self-reflectivity mediated the impact of cognitive symptoms and situation models on diminished expression. Results of the SEM revealed that self-reflectivity partially mediated the impact of situation models on diminished expression (β = -.073, p = .008, ±95% CI [-0.126, -0.019]). and fully mediated the influence of cognitive symptoms in diminished expression (β = 0.099, p = .001, ±95% CI [0.038, 0.160]). In conclusion, results suggest that self-reflectivity, linguistic cohesion, and cognitive symptoms may be useful targets for intervention in efforts to treat diminished expression in psychosis.
Collapse
|
9
|
Hitczenko K, Mittal VA, Goldrick M. Understanding Language Abnormalities and Associated Clinical Markers in Psychosis: The Promise of Computational Methods. Schizophr Bull 2020; 47:344-362. [PMID: 33205155 PMCID: PMC8480175 DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbaa141] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
The language and speech of individuals with psychosis reflect their impairments in cognition and motor processes. These language disturbances can be used to identify individuals with and at high risk for psychosis, as well as help track and predict symptom progression, allowing for early intervention and improved outcomes. However, current methods of language assessment-manual annotations and/or clinical rating scales-are time intensive, expensive, subject to bias, and difficult to administer on a wide scale, limiting this area from reaching its full potential. Computational methods that can automatically perform linguistic analysis have started to be applied to this problem and could drastically improve our ability to use linguistic information clinically. In this article, we first review how these automated, computational methods work and how they have been applied to the field of psychosis. We show that across domains, these methods have captured differences between individuals with psychosis and healthy controls and can classify individuals with high accuracies, demonstrating the promise of these methods. We then consider the obstacles that need to be overcome before these methods can play a significant role in the clinical process and provide suggestions for how the field should address them. In particular, while much of the work thus far has focused on demonstrating the successes of these methods, we argue that a better understanding of when and why these models fail will be crucial toward ensuring these methods reach their potential in the field of psychosis.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kasia Hitczenko
- Department of Linguistics, Northwestern University, Evanston,
IL,To whom correspondence should be addressed; Northwestern University, 2016
Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60208; tel: 847-491-5831, fax: 847-491-3770, e-mail:
| | - Vijay A Mittal
- Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL,Department of Psychiatry, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL,Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University, Evanston,
IL,Medical Social Sciences, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL,Institute for Innovations in Developmental Sciences, Northwestern
University, Evanston and Chicago, IL
| | - Matthew Goldrick
- Department of Linguistics, Northwestern University, Evanston,
IL,Institute for Innovations in Developmental Sciences, Northwestern
University, Evanston and Chicago, IL
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Bègue I, Kaiser S, Kirschner M. Pathophysiology of negative symptom dimensions of schizophrenia – Current developments and implications for treatment. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2020; 116:74-88. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.06.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2020] [Revised: 04/13/2020] [Accepted: 06/02/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
|
11
|
Kaliuzhna M, Kirschner M, Carruzzo F, Hartmann-Riemer MN, Bischof M, Seifritz E, Tobler PN, Kaiser S. Clinical, behavioural and neural validation of the PANSS amotivation factor. Schizophr Res 2020; 220:38-45. [PMID: 32349887 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2020.04.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2019] [Revised: 04/09/2020] [Accepted: 04/13/2020] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
Negative symptoms in schizophrenia have been suggested to map onto two distinct factors - amotivation and diminished expression. Only recently, two-factor solutions for measuring negative symptoms have been proposed for the Positive and Negative Symptom Scale (PANSS), the most commonly used scale to assess the psychopathology of patients with schizophrenia. We aimed to validate the PANSS two-factor structure on a clinical, behavioural and neural level. For this multi-level validation, we reanalysed several datasets with patients for whom both the Brief Negative Symptom Assessment Scale (BNSS) and PANSS data were collected. We used a clinical dataset (n = 120) as well as behavioural data from an effort-based decision making task (n = 31) and functional neuroimaging data from a monetary incentive delay task (n = 41). Both tasks have previously been shown to be associated with BNSS amotivation. On the clinical level, the PANSS amotivation and diminished expression were highly correlated with their BNSS counterparts. On the behavioural level, we found that the PANSS amotivation factor but not the diminished expression factor specifically associated with willingness to invest effort to obtain a reward. On the neural level, PANSS amotivation was specifically related to reduced ventral striatal activation during reward anticipation. Our data confirm that the PANSS clearly allows distinguishing amotivation from diminished expression, as it relates selectively to specific aspects of behaviour and brain function. Our results will allow a re-analysis and sharing of existing datasets that used the PANSS to further substantiate the distinction between the two factors in neuroscientific studies and clinical trials.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mariia Kaliuzhna
- Clinical and Experimental Psychopathology Group, Department of Psychiatry, University of Geneva, Switzerland.
| | - Matthias Kirschner
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric Hospital, University of Zurich, Switzerland; Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | - Fabien Carruzzo
- Clinical and Experimental Psychopathology Group, Department of Psychiatry, University of Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Matthias N Hartmann-Riemer
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric Hospital, University of Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Martin Bischof
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric Hospital, University of Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Erich Seifritz
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric Hospital, University of Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Philippe N Tobler
- Laboratory for Social and Neural Systems Research, Department of Economics, University of Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Stefan Kaiser
- Clinical and Experimental Psychopathology Group, Department of Psychiatry, University of Geneva, Switzerland; Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric Hospital, University of Zurich, Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Guessoum SB, Le Strat Y, Dubertret C, Mallet J. A transnosographic approach of negative symptoms pathophysiology in schizophrenia and depressive disorders. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2020; 99:109862. [PMID: 31927053 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2020.109862] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2019] [Revised: 01/07/2020] [Accepted: 01/08/2020] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Negative Symptoms (blunted affect, alogia, anhedonia, avolition and asociality) are observed in schizophrenia but also in depressive disorders. OBJECTIVE To gather cognitive, neuroanatomical, neurofunctional and neurobiological knowledge of negative symptoms in studies on schizophrenia, depressive disorder, and transnosographic studies. RESULTS Blunted affect in schizophrenia is characterized by amygdala hyperactivation and frontal hypoactivation, also found in depressive disorder. Mirror neurons, may be related to blunted affect in schizophrenia. Alogia may be related to cognitive dysfunction and basal ganglia area impairments in schizophrenia. Data surrounding alogia in depressive disorder is scarce; wider speech deficits are often studied instead. Consummatory Anhedonia may be less affected than Anticipatory Anhedonia in schizophrenia. Anhedonia is associated with reward impairments and altered striatal functions in both diagnostics. Amotivation is associated with Corticostriatal Hypoactivation in both disorders. Anhedonia and amotivation are transnosographically associated with dopamine dysregulation. Asociality may be related to oxytocin. CONCLUSION Pathophysiological hypotheses are specific to each dimension of negative symptoms and overlap across diagnostic boundaries, possibly underpinning the observed clinical continuum.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sélim Benjamin Guessoum
- AP-HP; Psychiatry Department, University Hospital Louis Mourier; University of Paris, 178 rue des Renouillers, 92700 Colombes, France; INSERM UMR1266, Institute of Psychiatry and Neurosciences of Paris (IPNP), 102-108 rue de la Santé, 75014 Paris, France
| | - Yann Le Strat
- AP-HP; Psychiatry Department, University Hospital Louis Mourier; University of Paris, 178 rue des Renouillers, 92700 Colombes, France; INSERM UMR1266, Institute of Psychiatry and Neurosciences of Paris (IPNP), 102-108 rue de la Santé, 75014 Paris, France.
| | - Caroline Dubertret
- AP-HP; Psychiatry Department, University Hospital Louis Mourier; University of Paris, 178 rue des Renouillers, 92700 Colombes, France; INSERM UMR1266, Institute of Psychiatry and Neurosciences of Paris (IPNP), 102-108 rue de la Santé, 75014 Paris, France.
| | - Jasmina Mallet
- AP-HP; Psychiatry Department, University Hospital Louis Mourier; University of Paris, 178 rue des Renouillers, 92700 Colombes, France; INSERM UMR1266, Institute of Psychiatry and Neurosciences of Paris (IPNP), 102-108 rue de la Santé, 75014 Paris, France.
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Fleischhacker W, Galderisi S, Laszlovszky I, Szatmári B, Barabássy Á, Acsai K, Szalai E, Harsányi J, Earley W, Patel M, Németh G. The efficacy of cariprazine in negative symptoms of schizophrenia: Post hoc analyses of PANSS individual items and PANSS-derived factors. Eur Psychiatry 2019; 58:1-9. [PMID: 30738380 DOI: 10.1016/j.eurpsy.2019.01.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2018] [Revised: 01/09/2019] [Accepted: 01/12/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Negative symptoms in schizophrenia are heterogeneous and multidimensional; effective treatments are lacking. Cariprazine, a dopamine D3-preferring D3/D2 receptor partial agonist and serotonin 5-HT1A receptor partial agonist, was significantly more effective than risperidone in treating negative symptoms in a prospectively designed trial in patients with schizophrenia and persistent, predominant negative symptoms. METHODS Using post hoc analyses, we evaluated change from baseline at week 26 in individual items of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and PANSS-derived factor models using a mixed-effects model for repeated measures (MMRM) in the intent-to-treat (ITT) population (cariprazine = 227; risperidone = 227). RESULTS Change from baseline was significantly different in favor of cariprazine versus risperidone on PANSS items N1-N5 (blunted affect, emotional withdrawal, poor rapport, passive/apathetic social withdrawal, difficulty in abstract thinking) (P < .05), but not on N6 (lack of spontaneity/flow of conversation) or N7 (stereotyped thinking). On all PANSS-derived negative symptom factor models evaluated (PANSS-Factor Score for Negative Symptoms, Liemburg factors, Khan factors, Pentagonal Structure Model Negative Symptom factor), statistically significant improvement was demonstrated for cariprazine versus risperidone (P < .01). Small and similar changes in positive/depressive/EPS symptoms suggested that negative symptom improvement was not pseudospecific. Change from baseline was significantly different for cariprazine versus risperidone on PANSS-based factors evaluating other relevant symptom domains (disorganized thoughts, prosocial function, cognition; P < .05). CONCLUSIONS Since items representing different negative symptom dimensions may represent different fundamental pathophysiological mechanisms, significant improvement versus risperidone on most PANSS Negative Subscale items and across all PANSS-derived factors suggests broad-spectrum efficacy for cariprazine in treating negative symptoms of schizophrenia.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Wolfgang Fleischhacker
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical University Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
| | | | | | | | | | - Károly Acsai
- Medical Division, Gedeon Richter Plc, Budapest, Hungary
| | | | | | | | | | - György Németh
- Medical Division, Gedeon Richter Plc, Budapest, Hungary
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Mørch-Johnsen L, Agartz I, Jensen J. The Neural Correlates of Negative Symptoms in Schizophrenia: Examples From MRI Literature. Clin EEG Neurosci 2018; 49:12-17. [PMID: 29243527 DOI: 10.1177/1550059417746214] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Negative symptoms of schizophrenia have a negative impact on psychosocial functioning and disease outcome. It is therefore important to investigate the pathophysiology underlying negative symptoms as this may aid the development of better treatment. In the current article, examples from studies investigating neural correlates of negative symptoms in schizophrenia are given. Investigations using both structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging are presented at different levels of symptomatology descriptions, from the more heterogenous construct of negative symptoms to more single discrete symptoms. Some methods to improve imaging studies of negative symptoms in schizophrenia are also suggested.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lynn Mørch-Johnsen
- 1 Department of Psychiatric Research, Diakonhjemmet Hospital, Oslo, Norway.,2 NORMENT and K.G. Jebsen Centre for Psychosis Research, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Ingrid Agartz
- 1 Department of Psychiatric Research, Diakonhjemmet Hospital, Oslo, Norway.,2 NORMENT and K.G. Jebsen Centre for Psychosis Research, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.,3 Centre for Psychiatric Research, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Jimmy Jensen
- 4 Centre for Psychology, Kristianstad University, Kristianstad, Sweden
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
Linking persistent negative symptoms to amygdala-hippocampus structure in first-episode psychosis. Transl Psychiatry 2017; 7:e1195. [PMID: 28786981 PMCID: PMC5611735 DOI: 10.1038/tp.2017.168] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2017] [Revised: 04/12/2017] [Accepted: 05/15/2017] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Early persistent negative symptoms (PNS) following a first episode of psychosis (FEP) are linked to poor functional outcome. Reports of reduced amygdalar and hippocampal volumes in early psychosis have not accounted for heterogeneity of symptoms. Age is also seldom considered in this population, a factor that has the potential to uncover symptom-specific maturational biomarkers pertaining to volume and shape changes within the hippocampus and amygdala. T1-weighted volumes were acquired for early (N=21), secondary (N=30), non-(N=44) PNS patients with a FEP, and controls (N=44). Amygdalar-hippocampal volumes and surface area (SA) metrics were extracted with the Multiple Automatically Generated Templates (MAGeT)-Brain algorithm. Linear mixed models were applied to test for a main effect of group and age × group interactions. Early PNS patients had significantly reduced left amygdalar and right hippocampal volumes, as well as similarly lateralized negative age × group interactions compared to secondary PNS patients (P<0.017, corrected). Morphometry revealed decreased SA in early PNS compared with other patient groups in left central amygdala, and in a posterior region when compared with controls. Early and secondary PNS patients had significantly decreased SA as a function of age compared with patients without such symptoms within the right hippocampal tail (P<0.05, corrected). Significant amygdalar-hippocampal changes with age are linked to PNS after a FEP, with converging results from volumetric and morphometric analyses. Differential age trajectories suggest an aberrant maturational process within FEP patients presenting with PNS, which could represent dynamic endophenotypes setting these patients apart from their non-symptomatic peers. Studies are encouraged to parse apart such symptom constructs when examining neuroanatomical changes emerging after a FEP.
Collapse
|
16
|
Kaiser S, Lyne J, Agartz I, Clarke M, Mørch-Johnsen L, Faerden A. Individual negative symptoms and domains - Relevance for assessment, pathomechanisms and treatment. Schizophr Res 2017; 186:39-45. [PMID: 27453425 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2016.07.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/24/2015] [Revised: 07/07/2016] [Accepted: 07/15/2016] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
The negative symptoms of schizophrenia can be divided into two domains. Avolition/apathy includes the individual symptoms of avolition, asociality and anhedonia. Diminished expression includes blunted affect and alogia. Until now, causes and treatment of negative symptoms have remained a major challenge, which is partially related to the focus on negative symptoms as a broad entity. Here, we propose that negative symptoms may become more tractable when the different domains and individual symptoms are taken into account. There is now increasing evidence that the relationship with clinical variables - in particular outcome - differs between the domains of avolition/apathy and diminished expression. Regarding models of negative symptom formation, those relevant to avolition/apathy are now converging on processes underlying goal-directed behavior and dysfunctions of the reward system. In contrast, models of the diminished expression domains are only beginning to emerge. The aim of this article is to review the specific clinical, behavioral and neural correlates of individual symptoms and domains as a better understanding of these areas may facilitate specific treatment approaches.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Stefan Kaiser
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric Hospital, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
| | - John Lyne
- Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, 123 St. Stephen's Green, Dublin 2, Ireland; North Dublin Mental Health Services, Ashlin Centre, Beaumont Road, Dublin 9, Ireland; Dublin and East Treatment and Early Care Team (DETECT) Services, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Ingrid Agartz
- Department of Psychiatric Research, Diakonhjemmet Hospital, Oslo, Norway; NORMENT and K.G. Jebsen Centre for Psychosis Research, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, 0424 Oslo, Norway
| | - Mary Clarke
- Dublin and East Treatment and Early Care Team (DETECT) Services, Dublin, Ireland; College of Life Sciences, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Lynn Mørch-Johnsen
- Department of Psychiatric Research, Diakonhjemmet Hospital, Oslo, Norway; NORMENT and K.G. Jebsen Centre for Psychosis Research, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, 0424 Oslo, Norway
| | - Ann Faerden
- NORMENT and K.G. Jebsen Centre for Psychosis Research, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, 0424 Oslo, Norway; Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
Woolley JD, Chuang B, Fussell C, Scherer S, Biagianti B, Fulford D, Mathalon DH, Vinogradov S. Intranasal oxytocin increases facial expressivity, but not ratings of trustworthiness, in patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls. Psychol Med 2017; 47:1311-1322. [PMID: 28091349 PMCID: PMC6939989 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291716003433] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Blunted facial affect is a common negative symptom of schizophrenia. Additionally, assessing the trustworthiness of faces is a social cognitive ability that is impaired in schizophrenia. Currently available pharmacological agents are ineffective at improving either of these symptoms, despite their clinical significance. The hypothalamic neuropeptide oxytocin has multiple prosocial effects when administered intranasally to healthy individuals and shows promise in decreasing negative symptoms and enhancing social cognition in schizophrenia. Although two small studies have investigated oxytocin's effects on ratings of facial trustworthiness in schizophrenia, its effects on facial expressivity have not been investigated in any population. METHOD We investigated the effects of oxytocin on facial emotional expressivity while participants performed a facial trustworthiness rating task in 33 individuals with schizophrenia and 35 age-matched healthy controls using a double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over design. Participants rated the trustworthiness of presented faces interspersed with emotionally evocative photographs while being video-recorded. Participants' facial expressivity in these videos was quantified by blind raters using a well-validated manualized approach (i.e. the Facial Expression Coding System; FACES). RESULTS While oxytocin administration did not affect ratings of facial trustworthiness, it significantly increased facial expressivity in individuals with schizophrenia (Z = -2.33, p = 0.02) and at trend level in healthy controls (Z = -1.87, p = 0.06). CONCLUSIONS These results demonstrate that oxytocin administration can increase facial expressivity in response to emotional stimuli and suggest that oxytocin may have the potential to serve as a treatment for blunted facial affect in schizophrenia.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- J D Woolley
- Department of Psychiatry,San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center,San Francisco,CA,USA
| | - B Chuang
- Department of Psychiatry,San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center,San Francisco,CA,USA
| | - C Fussell
- Department of Psychiatry,San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center,San Francisco,CA,USA
| | - S Scherer
- Institute for Creative Technologies,University of Southern California,Los Angeles,CA,USA
| | - B Biagianti
- Department of Psychiatry,University of California San Francisco,San Francisco,CA,USA
| | - D Fulford
- Departments of Occupational Therapy and Psychological & Brain Sciences,Boston University,Boston,MA,USA
| | - D H Mathalon
- Department of Psychiatry,San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center,San Francisco,CA,USA
| | - S Vinogradov
- Department of Psychiatry,San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center,San Francisco,CA,USA
| |
Collapse
|
18
|
Abstract
Negative symptoms have long been conceptualized as a core aspect of schizophrenia. They play a key role in the functional outcome of the disorder, and their management represents a significant unmet need. Improvements in definition, characterization, assessment instruments and experimental models are needed in order to foster research aimed at developing effective interventions. A consensus has recently been reached on the following aspects: a) five constructs should be considered as negative symptoms, i.e. blunted affect, alogia, anhedonia, asociality and avolition; b) for each construct, symptoms due to identifiable factors, such as medication effects, psychotic symptoms or depression, should be distinguished from those regarded as primary; c) the five constructs cluster in two factors, one including blunted affect and alogia and the other consisting of anhedonia, avolition and asociality. In this paper, for each construct, we report the current definition; highlight differences among the main assessment instruments; illustrate quantitative measures, if available, and their relationship with the evaluations based on rating scales; and describe correlates as well as experimental models. We conclude that: a) the assessment of the negative symptom dimension has recently improved, but even current expert consensus-based instruments diverge on several aspects; b) the use of objective measures might contribute to overcome uncertainties about the reliability of rating scales, but these measures require further investigation and validation; c) the boundaries with other illness components, in particular neurocognition and social cognition, are not well defined; and d) without further reducing the heterogeneity within the negative symptom dimension, attempts to develop successful interventions are likely to lead to great efforts paid back by small rewards.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Stephen R Marder
- Desert Pacific Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center, Semel Institute for Neuroscience at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | | |
Collapse
|
19
|
Marder SR, Galderisi S. The current conceptualization of negative symptoms in schizophrenia. WORLD PSYCHIATRY : OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE WORLD PSYCHIATRIC ASSOCIATION (WPA) 2017. [PMID: 28127915 DOI: 10.1002/wps.20385.] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Negative symptoms have long been conceptualized as a core aspect of schizophrenia. They play a key role in the functional outcome of the disorder, and their management represents a significant unmet need. Improvements in definition, characterization, assessment instruments and experimental models are needed in order to foster research aimed at developing effective interventions. A consensus has recently been reached on the following aspects: a) five constructs should be considered as negative symptoms, i.e. blunted affect, alogia, anhedonia, asociality and avolition; b) for each construct, symptoms due to identifiable factors, such as medication effects, psychotic symptoms or depression, should be distinguished from those regarded as primary; c) the five constructs cluster in two factors, one including blunted affect and alogia and the other consisting of anhedonia, avolition and asociality. In this paper, for each construct, we report the current definition; highlight differences among the main assessment instruments; illustrate quantitative measures, if available, and their relationship with the evaluations based on rating scales; and describe correlates as well as experimental models. We conclude that: a) the assessment of the negative symptom dimension has recently improved, but even current expert consensus-based instruments diverge on several aspects; b) the use of objective measures might contribute to overcome uncertainties about the reliability of rating scales, but these measures require further investigation and validation; c) the boundaries with other illness components, in particular neurocognition and social cognition, are not well defined; and d) without further reducing the heterogeneity within the negative symptom dimension, attempts to develop successful interventions are likely to lead to great efforts paid back by small rewards.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Stephen R Marder
- Desert Pacific Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center, Semel Institute for Neuroscience at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | | |
Collapse
|
20
|
Gur RC, Gur RE. Social cognition as an RDoC domain. Am J Med Genet B Neuropsychiatr Genet 2016; 171B:132-41. [PMID: 26607670 PMCID: PMC4843508 DOI: 10.1002/ajmg.b.32394] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2015] [Accepted: 10/07/2015] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
While the bulk of research into neural substrates of behavior and psychopathology has focused on cognitive, memory and executive functions, there has been a recent surge of interest in emotion processing and social cognition, manifested in designating Social Cognition as a major RDoC domain. We describe the origins of this field's influence on cognitive neuroscience and highlight the most salient findings leading to the characterization of the "social brain" and the establishments of parameters that quantify normative and aberrant behaviors. Such parameters of behavior and neurobiology are required for a potentially successful RDoC construct, especially if heritability is established, because of the need to link with genomic systems. We proceed to illustrate how a social cognition measure can be used within the RDoC framework by presenting a task of facial emotion identification. We show that performance is sensitive to normative individual differences related to age and sex and to deficits associated with schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders. Neuroimaging studies with this task demonstrate that it recruits limbic and frontal regulatory activation in healthy samples as well as abnormalities in psychiatric populations. Evidence for its heritability was documented in genomic family studies and in patients with the 22q11.2 deletion syndrome. Measures that meet such criteria can help build translational bridges between cellular molecular mechanisms and behavior that elucidate aberrations related to psychopathology. Such links will transcend current diagnostic classifications and ultimately lead to a mechanistically based diagnostic nomenclature. Establishing such bridges will provide the elements necessary for early detection and scientifically grounded intervention.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ruben C. Gur
- Brain Behavior Laboratory, Neuropsychiatry Section, Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Raquel E. Gur
- Brain Behavior Laboratory, Neuropsychiatry Section, Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| |
Collapse
|
21
|
Lindner C, Dannlowski U, Bauer J, Ohrmann P, Lencer R, Zwitserlood P, Kugel H, Suslow T. Affective Flattening in Patients with Schizophrenia: Differential Association with Amygdala Response to Threat-Related Facial Expression under Automatic and Controlled Processing Conditions. Psychiatry Investig 2016; 13:102-11. [PMID: 26766952 PMCID: PMC4701673 DOI: 10.4306/pi.2016.13.1.102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2014] [Revised: 04/14/2015] [Accepted: 05/07/2015] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Early neuroimaging studies have demonstrated amygdala hypoactivation in schizophrenia but more recent research based on paradigms with minimal cognitive loads or examining automatic processing has observed amygdala hyperactivation. Hyperactivation was found to be related to affective flattening. In this study, amygdala responsivity to threat-related facial expression was investigated in patients as a function of automatic versus controlled processing and patients' flat affect. METHODS Functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to measure amygdala activation in 36 patients with schizophrenia and 42 healthy controls. During scanning, a viewing task with masked and unmasked fearful and neutral faces was presented. RESULTS Patients exhibited increased amygdala response to unmasked fearful faces. With respect to masked fearful faces, no between-group differences emerged for the sample as a whole but a subsample of patients with flat affect showed heightened amygdala activation. The amygdala response to masked fearful faces was positively correlated with the degree of flat affect. Conversely, amygdala response to unmasked fearful faces was negatively correlated to the severity of affective flattening. In patients, amygdala responses to masked and unmasked fearful faces showed an inverse correlation. CONCLUSION Our findings suggest that amygdala hyperresponsivity to unmasked fearful faces might be a functional characteristic of schizophrenia. Amygdala hyperresponsivity to masked fearful faces might be a specific characteristic of patients with affective flattening. A model of flat affect as a response mechanism to emotional overload is proposed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Christian Lindner
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Udo Dannlowski
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Jochen Bauer
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - Patricia Ohrmann
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - Rebekka Lencer
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
| | | | - Harald Kugel
- Department of Clinical Radiology, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - Thomas Suslow
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
22
|
Galderisi S, Merlotti E, Mucci A. Neurobiological background of negative symptoms. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 2015; 265:543-58. [PMID: 25797499 DOI: 10.1007/s00406-015-0590-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2015] [Accepted: 03/15/2015] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
Studies investigating neurobiological bases of negative symptoms of schizophrenia failed to provide consistent findings, possibly due to the heterogeneity of this psychopathological construct. We tried to review the findings published to date investigating neurobiological abnormalities after reducing the heterogeneity of the negative symptoms construct. The literature in electronic databases as well as citations and major articles are reviewed with respect to the phenomenology, pathology, genetics and neurobiology of schizophrenia. We searched PubMed with the keywords "negative symptoms," "deficit schizophrenia," "persistent negative symptoms," "neurotransmissions," "neuroimaging" and "genetic." Additional articles were identified by manually checking the reference lists of the relevant publications. Publications in English were considered, and unpublished studies, conference abstracts and poster presentations were not included. Structural and functional imaging studies addressed the issue of neurobiological background of negative symptoms from several perspectives (considering them as a unitary construct, focusing on primary and/or persistent negative symptoms and, more recently, clustering them into factors), but produced discrepant findings. The examined studies provided evidence suggesting that even primary and persistent negative symptoms include different psychopathological constructs, probably reflecting the dysfunction of different neurobiological substrates. Furthermore, they suggest that complex alterations in multiple neurotransmitter systems and genetic variants might influence the expression of negative symptoms in schizophrenia. On the whole, the reviewed findings, representing the distillation of a large body of disparate data, suggest that further deconstruction of negative symptomatology into more elementary components is needed to gain insight into underlying neurobiological mechanisms.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Silvana Galderisi
- Department of Psychiatry, Second University of Naples (SUN), L.go Madonna delle Grazie, 1, 80138, Naples, Italy.
| | - Eleonora Merlotti
- Department of Psychiatry, Second University of Naples (SUN), L.go Madonna delle Grazie, 1, 80138, Naples, Italy
| | - Armida Mucci
- Department of Psychiatry, Second University of Naples (SUN), L.go Madonna delle Grazie, 1, 80138, Naples, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
23
|
Negative symptoms in schizophrenia show association with amygdala volumes and neural activation during affective processing. Acta Neuropsychiatr 2015; 27:213-20. [PMID: 25777814 DOI: 10.1017/neu.2015.11] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Negative symptoms in schizophrenia have been associated with structural and functional alterations of the amygdala. We hypothesised that there would be between-group differences in amygdala volume and neural activation patterns during processing of affective stimuli among patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls. We further hypothesised correlations between neuroimaging metrics and clinical ratings of negative symptoms in patients with schizophrenia. METHODS We used structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging to assess volume and neural activation of the amygdala in 28 patients with schizophrenia and 28 healthy controls. RESULTS We found no between-group differences in amygdala volume or neural activation. However, we found a significant negative correlation between emotional blunting and neural activation in the left amygdala during processing of positive affect. We also found a significant negative correlation between stereotyped thinking and the volume of right amygdala. CONCLUSION Our findings implicate the amygdala in a subgroup of negative symptoms in schizophrenia that are characterised by reduced expression with blunted affect and stereotyped thinking.
Collapse
|
24
|
Fett AKJ, Shergill SS, Krabbendam L. Social neuroscience in psychiatry: unravelling the neural mechanisms of social dysfunction. Psychol Med 2015; 45:1145-1165. [PMID: 25335852 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291714002487] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Social neuroscience is a flourishing, interdisciplinary field that investigates the underlying biological processes of social cognition and behaviour. The recent application of social neuroscience to psychiatric research advances our understanding of various psychiatric illnesses that are characterized by impairments in social cognition and social functioning. In addition, the upcoming line of social neuroscience research provides new techniques to design and evaluate treatment interventions that are aimed at improving patients' social lives. This review provides a contemporary overview of social neuroscience in psychiatry. We draw together the major findings about the neural mechanisms of social cognitive processes directed at understanding others and social interactions in psychiatric illnesses and discuss their implications for future research and clinical practice.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- A K J Fett
- Department of Educational Neuroscience & Research Institute LEARN!,Faculty of Psychology and Education,VU University Amsterdam,Van der Boechorststraat 1,Amsterdam,The Netherlands
| | - S S Shergill
- Department of Psychosis Studies,Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London,De Crespigny Park,London,UK
| | - L Krabbendam
- Department of Educational Neuroscience & Research Institute LEARN!,Faculty of Psychology and Education,VU University Amsterdam,Van der Boechorststraat 1,Amsterdam,The Netherlands
| |
Collapse
|
25
|
Choudhary M, Kumar A, Tripathi M, Bhatia T, Shivakumar V, Beniwal RP, Gur RC, Gur RE, Nimgaonkar VL, Deshpande SN. F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography study of impaired emotion processing in first episode schizophrenia. Schizophr Res 2015; 162:103-7. [PMID: 25655909 PMCID: PMC4339502 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2015.01.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2013] [Revised: 01/13/2015] [Accepted: 01/15/2015] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Schizophrenia cases have been consistently shown to have behavioural and neurofunctional abnormalities but studies during early course are scarce. The present work assesses the performance of acute first episode schizophrenia cases on correlation of a facial emotion perception task with brain function using fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET). METHODS Twenty First episode schizophrenia cases and 20 matched healthy controls living in the community were enrolled. For cases, longest duration of illness was one year and treatment with neuroleptic did not exceed two weeks on the day of scan. To measure facial emotion perception (FEP) both groups were administered the Emotion battery from the Penn Computerized Battery followed by PET acquisition. SPM 8 analysis for group differences at p<0.001 was performed. RESULTS Schizophrenia subjects showed hypoactivation of bilateral prefrontal cortices and fusiform gyrii, with significant hyperactivation of bilateral basal ganglia and left precuneus. Positive correlation of metabolism in prefrontal cortex and performance indices on emotions domain was seen. No correlation of chlorpromazine equivalent days with metabolism in basal ganglia was observed. CONCLUSIONS The performance of schizophrenia cases on FEP task was significantly impaired in comparison to the control group. Brain regions implicated in emotion processing showed hypometabolism in cases as compared to controls. Failure of schizophrenia cases to optimally recruit brain circuitry may be contributing to deficits on FEP task. These findings suggest inherent deficits in neural circuitry of emotion processing in schizophrenia; devoid of confounding effects of neuroleptics and duration of illness.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mona Choudhary
- Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital (PGIMER-RMLH), Park Street, New Delhi, India
| | - Arvind Kumar
- Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital (PGIMER-RMLH), Park Street, New Delhi, India
| | - Madhavi Tripathi
- Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences, Timarpur, New Delhi, India
| | - Triptish Bhatia
- Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital (PGIMER-RMLH), Park Street, New Delhi, India
| | - Venkataram Shivakumar
- Translational Psychiatry Laboratory, Cognitive Neurobiology Division, Neurobiology Research Center, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Science, Bangaluru, India
| | - Ram Pratap Beniwal
- Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital (PGIMER-RMLH), Park Street, New Delhi, India
| | - Ruben C. Gur
- Schizophrenia Research Centre, Neuropsychiatry Section, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA USA
| | - Raquel E. Gur
- Schizophrenia Research Centre, Neuropsychiatry Section, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA USA
| | - Vishwajit L. Nimgaonkar
- Department of Psychiatry and Department of Human Genetics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, USA
| | - Smita N. Deshpande
- Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital (PGIMER-RMLH), Park Street, New Delhi, India
| |
Collapse
|
26
|
Abnormal cortico-limbic connectivity during emotional processing correlates with symptom severity in schizophrenia. Eur Psychiatry 2015; 30:590-7. [PMID: 25682180 DOI: 10.1016/j.eurpsy.2015.01.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2014] [Revised: 01/08/2015] [Accepted: 01/08/2015] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Impaired emotional processing is a core feature of schizophrenia (SZ). Consistent findings suggested that abnormal emotional processing in SZ could be paralleled by a disrupted functional and structural integrity within the fronto-limbic circuitry. The effective connectivity of emotional circuitry in SZ has never been explored in terms of causal relationship between brain regions. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging and Dynamic Causal Modeling (DCM) to characterize effective connectivity during implicit processing of affective stimuli in SZ. METHODS We performed DCM to model connectivity between amygdala (Amy), dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), ventral prefrontal cortex (VPFC), fusiform gyrus (FG) and visual cortex (VC) in 25 patients with SZ and 29 HC. Bayesian Model Selection and average were performed to determine the optimal structural model and its parameters. RESULTS Analyses revealed that patients with SZ are characterized by a significant reduced top-down endogenous connectivity from DLPFC to Amy, an increased connectivity from Amy to VPFC and a decreased driving input to Amy of affective stimuli compared to HC. Furthermore, DLPFC to Amy connection in patients significantly influenced the severity of psychopathology as rated on Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale. CONCLUSIONS Results suggest a functional disconnection in brain network that contributes to the symptomatic outcome of the disorder. Our findings support the study of effective connectivity within cortico-limbic structures as a marker of severity and treatment efficacy in SZ.
Collapse
|
27
|
Cortical thinning in temporo-parietal junction (TPJ) in non-affective first-episode of psychosis patients with persistent negative symptoms. PLoS One 2014. [PMID: 24979583 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0101372.] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Negative symptoms represent an unmet therapeutic need in many patients with schizophrenia. In an extension to our previous voxel-based morphometry findings, we employed a more specific, vertex-based approach to explore cortical thinning in relation to persistent negative symptoms (PNS) in non-affective first-episode of psychosis (FEP) patients to advance our understanding of the pathophysiology of primary negative symptoms. METHODS This study included 62 non-affective FEP patients and 60 non-clinical controls; 16 patients were identified with PNS (i.e., at least 1 primary negative symptom at moderate or greater severity sustained for at least 6 consecutive months). Using cortical thickness analyses, we explored for differences between PNS and non-PNS patients as well as between each patient group and healthy controls; cut-off threshold was set at p<0.01, corrected for multiple comparisons. RESULTS A thinner cortex prominently in the right superior temporal gyrus extending into the temporo-parietal junction (TPJ), right parahippocampal gyrus, and left orbital frontal gyrus was identified in PNS patients vs. non-PNS patients. Compared with healthy controls, PNS patients showed a thinner cortex prominently in the right superior temporal gyrus, right parahippocampal gyrus, and right cingulate; non-PNS patients showed a thinner cortex prominently in the parahippocampal gyrus bi-laterally. CONCLUSION Cortical thinning in the early stages of non-affective psychosis is present in the frontal and temporo-parietal regions in patients with PNS. With these brain regions strongly related to social cognitive functioning, our finding suggests a potential link between primary negative symptoms and social cognitive deficits through common brain etiologies.
Collapse
|
28
|
Bodnar M, Hovington CL, Buchy L, Malla AK, Joober R, Lepage M. Cortical thinning in temporo-parietal junction (TPJ) in non-affective first-episode of psychosis patients with persistent negative symptoms. PLoS One 2014; 9:e101372. [PMID: 24979583 PMCID: PMC4076331 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0101372] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2014] [Accepted: 05/29/2014] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Negative symptoms represent an unmet therapeutic need in many patients with schizophrenia. In an extension to our previous voxel-based morphometry findings, we employed a more specific, vertex-based approach to explore cortical thinning in relation to persistent negative symptoms (PNS) in non-affective first-episode of psychosis (FEP) patients to advance our understanding of the pathophysiology of primary negative symptoms. METHODS This study included 62 non-affective FEP patients and 60 non-clinical controls; 16 patients were identified with PNS (i.e., at least 1 primary negative symptom at moderate or greater severity sustained for at least 6 consecutive months). Using cortical thickness analyses, we explored for differences between PNS and non-PNS patients as well as between each patient group and healthy controls; cut-off threshold was set at p<0.01, corrected for multiple comparisons. RESULTS A thinner cortex prominently in the right superior temporal gyrus extending into the temporo-parietal junction (TPJ), right parahippocampal gyrus, and left orbital frontal gyrus was identified in PNS patients vs. non-PNS patients. Compared with healthy controls, PNS patients showed a thinner cortex prominently in the right superior temporal gyrus, right parahippocampal gyrus, and right cingulate; non-PNS patients showed a thinner cortex prominently in the parahippocampal gyrus bi-laterally. CONCLUSION Cortical thinning in the early stages of non-affective psychosis is present in the frontal and temporo-parietal regions in patients with PNS. With these brain regions strongly related to social cognitive functioning, our finding suggests a potential link between primary negative symptoms and social cognitive deficits through common brain etiologies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Michael Bodnar
- Prevention and Early Intervention Program for Psychoses (PEPP – Montreal), Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montreal, Canada
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | - Cindy L. Hovington
- Department of Neurology & Neurosurgery, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | - Lisa Buchy
- Department of Neurology & Neurosurgery, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | - Ashok K. Malla
- Prevention and Early Intervention Program for Psychoses (PEPP – Montreal), Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montreal, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | - Ridha Joober
- Prevention and Early Intervention Program for Psychoses (PEPP – Montreal), Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montreal, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | - Martin Lepage
- Prevention and Early Intervention Program for Psychoses (PEPP – Montreal), Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montreal, Canada
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
- Department of Neurology & Neurosurgery, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
- * E-mail:
| |
Collapse
|
29
|
Millan MJ, Fone K, Steckler T, Horan WP. Negative symptoms of schizophrenia: clinical characteristics, pathophysiological substrates, experimental models and prospects for improved treatment. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol 2014; 24:645-92. [PMID: 24820238 DOI: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2014.03.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 228] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2014] [Accepted: 03/19/2014] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Schizophrenia is a complex and multifactorial disorder generally diagnosed in young adults at the time of the first psychotic episode of delusions and hallucinations. These positive symptoms can be controlled in most patients by currently-available antipsychotics. Conversely, they are poorly effective against concomitant neurocognitive dysfunction, deficits in social cognition and negative symptoms (NS), which strongly contribute to poor functional outcome. The precise notion of NS has evolved over the past century, with recent studies - underpinned by novel rating methods - suggesting two major sub-domains: "decreased emotional expression", incorporating blunted affect and poverty of speech, and "avolition", which embraces amotivation, asociality and "anhedonia" (inability to anticipate pleasure). Recent studies implicate a dysfunction of frontocortico-temporal networks in the aetiology of NS, together with a disruption of cortico-striatal circuits, though other structures are also involved, like the insular and parietal cortices, amygdala and thalamus. At the cellular level, a disruption of GABAergic-glutamatergic balance, dopaminergic signalling and, possibly, oxytocinergic and cannibinoidergic transmission may be involved. Several agents are currently under clinical investigation for the potentially improved control of NS, including oxytocin itself, N-Methyl-d-Aspartate receptor modulators and minocycline. Further, magnetic-electrical "stimulation" strategies to recruit cortical circuits and "cognitive-behavioural-psychosocial" therapies likewise hold promise. To acquire novel insights into the causes and treatment of NS, experimental study is crucial, and opportunities are emerging for improved genetic, pharmacological and developmental modelling, together with more refined readouts related to deficits in reward, sociality and "expression". The present article comprises an integrative overview of the above issues as a platform for this Special Issue of European Neuropsychopharmacology in which five clinical and five preclinical articles treat individual themes in greater detail. This Volume provides, then, a framework for progress in the understanding - and ultimately control - of the debilitating NS of schizophrenia.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mark J Millan
- Pole of Innovation in Neuropsychiatry, Institut de Recherche Servier, 125 Chemin de Ronde, 78290 Croissy-sur-Seine, Paris, France.
| | - Kevin Fone
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Medical School, Queen׳s Medical Centre, Nottingham University, Nottingham NG72UH, UK
| | - Thomas Steckler
- Janssen Research and Development, Turnhoutseweg 30, 2340 Beerse, Belgium
| | - William P Horan
- VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, University of California, Los Angeles, MIRECC 210A, Bldg. 210, 11301 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90073, USA
| |
Collapse
|
30
|
Hovington CL, Lepage M. Neurocognition and neuroimaging of persistent negative symptoms of schizophrenia. Expert Rev Neurother 2014; 12:53-69. [DOI: 10.1586/ern.11.173] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
|
31
|
Involvement of the mirror neuron system in blunted affect in schizophrenia. Schizophr Res 2014; 152:268-74. [PMID: 24268934 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2013.10.043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2013] [Revised: 09/30/2013] [Accepted: 10/30/2013] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Blunted affect is a relatively enduring schizophrenic symptom and its presence brings about poor functioning and outcomes. Functional impairment in the mirror neuron system which is involved in both motor execution and imitation may be a neural basis of blunted affect, but it is not proved yet. Fifteen patients with schizophrenia and 16 healthy controls performed the facial expression task during functional magnetic resonance imaging. The task was to reproduce facial expressions in response to the face or word stimuli for happiness, sadness, and meaningless expression. Brain activities during facial expressions in patients compared with controls and their relationship with affective flattening were analyzed. Compared to controls, patients exhibited decreased activity in the widespread dorsal frontal regions and increased activity in the ventral frontal and subcortical regions. Patients also demonstrated significant negative correlation of the severity of affective flattening with activities in the mirror neuron system, such as the premotor cortex, motor cortex, and inferior parietal lobule. Emotional expression in patients with schizophrenia may be related to hypoactivity of the dorsal system and hyperactivity of the ventral system. An imbalance of these two systems may contribute to blunted affect. Directly addressing blunted affect using emotional expression provides a new perspective that functional disturbance of the mirror neuron system may play an important role in manifestation of blunted affect in schizophrenia.
Collapse
|
32
|
Happy facial expression processing with different social interaction cues: an fMRI study of individuals with schizotypal personality traits. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2013; 44:108-17. [PMID: 23416087 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2013.02.004] [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] [Received: 11/26/2012] [Revised: 02/06/2013] [Accepted: 02/06/2013] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
In daily life facial expressions change rapidly and the direction of change provides important clues about social interaction. The aim of conducting this study was to elucidate the dynamic happy facial expression processing with different social interaction cues in individuals with (n=14) and without (n=14) schizotypal personality disorder (SPD) traits. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), dynamic happy facial expression processing was examined by presenting video clips depicting happiness appearing and disappearing under happiness inducing ('praise') or reducing ('blame') interaction cues. The happiness appearing condition consistently elicited more brain activations than the happiness disappearing condition in the posterior cingulate bilaterally in all participants. Further analyses showed that the SPD group was less deactivated than the non-SPD group in the right anterior cingulate cortex in the happiness appearing-disappearing contrast. The SPD group deactivated more than the non-SPD group in the left posterior cingulate and right superior temporal gyrus in the praise-blame contrast. Moreover, the incongruence of cues and facial expression activated the frontal-thalamus-caudate-parietal network, which is involved in emotion recognition and conflict resolution. These results shed light on the neural basis of social interaction deficits in individuals with schizotypal personality traits.
Collapse
|
33
|
Delvecchio G, Sugranyes G, Frangou S. Evidence of diagnostic specificity in the neural correlates of facial affect processing in bipolar disorder and schizophrenia: a meta-analysis of functional imaging studies. Psychol Med 2013; 43:553-569. [PMID: 22874625 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291712001432] [Citation(s) in RCA: 97] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Schizophrenia (SZ) and bipolar disorder (BD) may overlap in etiology and phenomenology but differ with regard to emotional processing. We used facial affect as a probe for emotional processing to determine whether there are diagnosis-related differences between SZ and BD in the function of the underlying neural circuitry. METHOD Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies published up to 30 April 2012 investigating facial affect processing in patients with SZ or BD were identified through computerized and manual literature searches. Activation foci from 29 studies encompassing 483 healthy individuals, 268 patients with SZ and 267 patients with BD were subjected to voxel-based quantitative meta-analysis using activation likelihood estimation (ALE). RESULTS Compared to healthy individuals, when emotional facial stimuli were contrasted to neutral stimuli, patients with BD showed overactivation within the parahippocampus/amygdala and thalamus and reduced engagement within the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (PFC) whereas patients with SZ showed underactivation throughout the entire facial affect processing network and increased activation in visual processing regions within the cuneus. Patients with BD showed greater thalamic engagement compared to patients with SZ; in the reverse comparison, patients with SZ showed greater engagement in posterior associative visual cortices. CONCLUSIONS During facial affect processing, patients with BD show overactivation in subcortical regions and underactivation in prefrontal regions of the facial affect processing network, consistent with the notion of reduced emotional regulation. By contrast, overactivation within visual processing regions coupled with reduced engagement of facial affect processing regions points to abnormal visual integration as the core underlying deficit in SZ.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- G Delvecchio
- Section of Neurobiology of Psychosis, Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, UK
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
34
|
Fan FM, Tan SP, Yang FD, Tan YL, Zhao YL, Chen N, Li BB, Song CS, Wang YH, Jin Z, Zhou DF, Milham MP, Zou YZ, Zuo XN. Ventral medial prefrontal functional connectivity and emotion regulation in chronic schizophrenia: a pilot study. Neurosci Bull 2013; 29:59-74. [PMID: 23319314 PMCID: PMC5561861 DOI: 10.1007/s12264-013-1300-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2012] [Accepted: 07/26/2012] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
People with schizophrenia exhibit impaired social cognitive functions, particularly emotion regulation. Abnormal activations of the ventral medial prefrontal cortex (vMPFC) during emotional tasks have been demonstrated in schizophrenia, suggesting its important role in emotion processing in patients. We used the resting-state functional connectivity approach, setting a functionally relevant region, the vMPFC, as a seed region to examine the intrinsic functional interactions and communication between the vMPFC and other brain regions in schizophrenic patients. We found hypo-connectivity between the vMPFC and the medial frontal cortex, right middle temporal lobe (MTL), right hippocampus, parahippocampal cortex (PHC) and amygdala. Further, there was a decreased strength of the negative connectivity (or anticorrelation) between the vMPFC and the bilateral dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and pre-supplementary motor areas. Among these connectivity alterations, reduced vMPFC-DLPFC connectivity was positively correlated with positive symptoms on the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, while vMPFC-right MTL/PHC/amygdala functional connectivity was positively correlated with the performance of emotional regulation in patients. These findings imply that communication and coordination throughout the brain networks are disrupted in schizophrenia. The emotional correlates of vMPFC connectivity suggest a role of the hypo-connectivity between these regions in the neuropathology of abnormal social cognition in chronic schizophrenia.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Feng-Mei Fan
- Psychiatry Research Center, Beijing Huilongguan Hospital, Beijing, 100096 China
- Laboratory for Functional Connectome and Development, Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Magnetic Resonance Imaging Research Center, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101 China
| | - Shu-Ping Tan
- Psychiatry Research Center, Beijing Huilongguan Hospital, Beijing, 100096 China
| | - Fu-De Yang
- Psychiatry Research Center, Beijing Huilongguan Hospital, Beijing, 100096 China
| | - Yun-Long Tan
- Psychiatry Research Center, Beijing Huilongguan Hospital, Beijing, 100096 China
| | - Yan-Li Zhao
- Psychiatry Research Center, Beijing Huilongguan Hospital, Beijing, 100096 China
| | - Nan Chen
- Psychiatry Research Center, Beijing Huilongguan Hospital, Beijing, 100096 China
| | - Bin-Bin Li
- Psychiatry Research Center, Beijing Huilongguan Hospital, Beijing, 100096 China
| | - Chong-Sheng Song
- Psychiatry Research Center, Beijing Huilongguan Hospital, Beijing, 100096 China
| | - Yun-Hui Wang
- Psychiatry Research Center, Beijing Huilongguan Hospital, Beijing, 100096 China
| | - Zhen Jin
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging Unit, The 306th Hospital of PLA, Beijing, 100091 China
| | - Dong-Feng Zhou
- Institute of Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing, 100191 China
| | - Michael P. Milham
- Center for the Developing Brain, Child Mind Institute, New York, NY 10022 USA
- Nathan S. Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY 10962 USA
| | - Yi-Zhuang Zou
- Psychiatry Research Center, Beijing Huilongguan Hospital, Beijing, 100096 China
| | - Xi-Nian Zuo
- Laboratory for Functional Connectome and Development, Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Magnetic Resonance Imaging Research Center, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101 China
| |
Collapse
|
35
|
Seok JH, Park HJ, Lee JD, Kim HS, Chun JW, Son SJ, Oh MK, Ku J, Lee H, Kim JJ. Regional cerebral blood flow changes and performance deficit during a sustained attention task in schizophrenia: (15) O-water positron emission tomography. Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 2012; 66:564-72. [PMID: 23252922 DOI: 10.1111/j.1440-1819.2012.02407.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2011] [Revised: 12/27/2011] [Accepted: 01/14/2012] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
AIM Attention deficit has been reported in both schizophrenia patients and patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). The aim of this study was to elucidate the deficits in sustained attention and associated neural network dysfunctions in schizophrenia patients and MDD patients, and to investigate the difference between the two patient groups. METHODS Twelve schizophrenia patients, 12 patients with non-psychotic MDD, and 12 healthy control subjects participated in this study. A sustained attention to response task (SART) was used to measure attention capacity. Cerebral blood flow (CBF) during attention tasks was measured using H(2) (15) O positron emission tomography. Statistical parametric mapping and analysis of covariance were performed to compare the behavioral performance and CBF changes during SART among three groups. RESULTS Behavioral performances were not significantly different among the three groups except for an increased commission error rate in the schizophrenia group. Regional CBF during SART was significantly reduced in the left inferior frontal gyrus, the left cuneus, and the right superior parietal lobule and increased in the right superior frontal gyrus and the right cuneus in the schizophrenia group compared to the healthy control group. In the MDD group, neither significant regional CBF difference nor behavioral deficit was found compared to the healthy control group. CONCLUSION Behavioral performance deficit and perfusion changes in the prefrontal and parietal cortices during SART were observed only in the schizophrenia group. Prefrontal and parietal network dysfunction for sustained attention may be involved in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jeong-Ho Seok
- Department of Psychiatry and Institute of Behavioral Science in Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Korea
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|