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Chen J, Wei Y, Xue K, Han S, Li W, Zhou B, Cheng J. Abnormal effective connectivity of reward network in first-episode schizophrenia with auditory verbal hallucinations. J Psychiatr Res 2024; 171:207-214. [PMID: 38309210 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2024.01.023] [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: 07/06/2023] [Revised: 12/02/2023] [Accepted: 01/15/2024] [Indexed: 02/05/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Auditory verbal hallucinations (AVHs) in schizophrenia is proved to be associated with dysfunction of mesolimbic-cortical circuits, especially during abnormal salient and internal verbal resource monitoring processing procedures. However, the information flow among areas involved in coordinated interaction implicated the pathophysiology of AVHs remains unclear. METHODS We used spectral dynamic causal modeling (DCM) to quantify connections among eight critical hubs of reward network in 86 first-episode drug-naïve schizophrenia patients with AVHs (AVH), 93 patients without AVHs (NAVH), and 88 matched normal controls (NC) using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. Group-level connection coefficients, between-group differences and correlation analysis between image measures and symptoms were performed. RESULT DCM revealed weaker effective connectivity (EC) from right ventral striatum (RVS) to ventral tegmental area (VTA) in AVH compared to NAVH. AVH showed stronger EC from left anterior insula (AI) to RVS, stronger EC from RVS to anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), and stronger EC from VTA to posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) compared to NC. The correlation analysis results were mostly visible in the negative correlation between EC from right AI to ACC and positive sub-score, P1 sub-score, and P3 sub-score of PNASS in group-level. CONCLUSION These findings suggest that neural causal interactions between the reward network associated with AVHs are disrupted, expanding the evidence for potential neurobiological mechanisms of AVHs. Particularly, dopamine-dependent salience attribution and top-down monitoring impairments and compensatory effects of enhanced excitatory afferents to ACC, which may provide evidence for a therapeutic target based on direct in vivo of AVHs in schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingli Chen
- Department of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450052, China; Laboratory for Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Molecular Imaging of Henan Province, Zhengzhou, 450052, China
| | - Yarui Wei
- Department of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450052, China; Laboratory for Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Molecular Imaging of Henan Province, Zhengzhou, 450052, China
| | - Kangkang Xue
- Department of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450052, China; Laboratory for Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Molecular Imaging of Henan Province, Zhengzhou, 450052, China
| | - Shaoqiang Han
- Department of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450052, China; Laboratory for Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Molecular Imaging of Henan Province, Zhengzhou, 450052, China
| | - Wenbin Li
- Department of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450052, China; Laboratory for Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Molecular Imaging of Henan Province, Zhengzhou, 450052, China
| | - Bingqian Zhou
- Department of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450052, China; Laboratory for Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Molecular Imaging of Henan Province, Zhengzhou, 450052, China
| | - Jingliang Cheng
- Department of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450052, China; Laboratory for Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Molecular Imaging of Henan Province, Zhengzhou, 450052, China.
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Yang X, Song Y, Zou Y, Li Y, Zeng J. Neural correlates of prediction error in patients with schizophrenia: evidence from an fMRI meta-analysis. Cereb Cortex 2024; 34:bhad471. [PMID: 38061699 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhad471] [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: 07/24/2023] [Revised: 11/07/2023] [Accepted: 11/09/2023] [Indexed: 01/19/2024] Open
Abstract
Abnormal processes of learning from prediction errors, i.e. the discrepancies between expectations and outcomes, are thought to underlie motivational impairments in schizophrenia. Although dopaminergic abnormalities in the mesocorticolimbic reward circuit have been found in patients with schizophrenia, the pathway through which prediction error signals are processed in schizophrenia has yet to be elucidated. To determine the neural correlates of prediction error processing in schizophrenia, we conducted a meta-analysis of whole-brain neuroimaging studies that investigated prediction error signal processing in schizophrenia patients and healthy controls. A total of 14 studies (324 schizophrenia patients and 348 healthy controls) using the reinforcement learning paradigm were included. Our meta-analysis showed that, relative to healthy controls, schizophrenia patients showed increased activity in the precentral gyrus and middle frontal gyrus and reduced activity in the mesolimbic circuit, including the striatum, thalamus, amygdala, hippocampus, anterior cingulate cortex, insula, superior temporal gyrus, and cerebellum, when processing prediction errors. We also found hyperactivity in frontal areas and hypoactivity in mesolimbic areas when encoding prediction error signals in schizophrenia patients, potentially indicating abnormal dopamine signaling of reward prediction error and suggesting failure to represent the value of alternative responses during prediction error learning and decision making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xun Yang
- School of Public Policy and Administration, Chongqing University, No. 174, Shazhengjie, Shapingba, Chongqing, China
| | - Yuan Song
- School of Public Policy and Administration, Chongqing University, No. 174, Shazhengjie, Shapingba, Chongqing, China
| | - Yuhan Zou
- School of Economics and Business Administration, Chongqing University, No. 174, Shazhengjie, Shapingba, Chongqing, China
| | - Yilin Li
- Psychology and Neuroscience Department, University of St Andrews, Forbes 1 DRA, Buchanan Garden, St Andrews, Fife, United Kingdom
| | - Jianguang Zeng
- School of Economics and Business Administration, Chongqing University, No. 174, Shazhengjie, Shapingba, Chongqing, China
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Ryan JS, Treadway MT. Transdiagnostic or disorder-specific? Altered reinforcement learning in depression and schizophrenia. Brain 2024; 147:5-6. [PMID: 38126806 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awad400] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2023] [Accepted: 11/27/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023] Open
Abstract
This scientific commentary refers to ‘Transdiagnostic inflexible learning dynamics explain deficits in depression and schizophrenia’ by Kirschner et al. (https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awad362).
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan S Ryan
- Department of Psychology, EmoryUniversity, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
| | - Michael T Treadway
- Department of Psychology, EmoryUniversity, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
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4
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Purcell JR, Brown JW, Tullar RL, Bloomer BF, Kim DJ, Moussa-Tooks AB, Dolan-Bennett K, Bangert BM, Wisner KM, Lundin NB, O'Donnell BF, Hetrick WP. Insular and Striatal Correlates of Uncertain Risky Reward Pursuit in Schizophrenia. Schizophr Bull 2023; 49:726-737. [PMID: 36869757 PMCID: PMC10154703 DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbac206] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/05/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND HYPOTHESIS Risk-taking in specific contexts can be beneficial, leading to rewarding outcomes. Schizophrenia is associated with disadvantageous decision-making, as subjects pursue uncertain risky rewards less than controls. However, it is unclear whether this behavior is associated with more risk sensitivity or less reward incentivization. Matching on demographics and intelligence quotient (IQ), we determined whether risk-taking was more associated with brain activation in regions affiliated with risk evaluation or reward processing. STUDY DESIGN Subjects (30 schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder, 30 controls) completed a modified, fMRI Balloon Analogue Risk Task. Brain activation was modeled during decisions to pursue risky rewards and parametrically modeled according to risk level. STUDY RESULTS The schizophrenia group exhibited less risky-reward pursuit despite previous adverse outcomes (Average Explosions; F(1,59) = 4.06, P = .048) but the comparable point at which risk-taking was volitionally discontinued (Adjusted Pumps; F(1,59) = 2.65, P = .11). Less activation was found in schizophrenia via whole brain and region of interest (ROI) analyses in the right (F(1,59) = 14.91, P < 0.001) and left (F(1,59) = 16.34, P < 0.001) nucleus accumbens (NAcc) during decisions to pursue rewards relative to riskiness. Risk-taking correlated with IQ in schizophrenia, but not controls. Path analyses of average ROI activation revealed less statistically determined influence of anterior insula upon dorsal anterior cingulate bilaterally (left: χ2 = 12.73, P < .001; right: χ2 = 9.54, P = .002) during risky reward pursuit in schizophrenia. CONCLUSIONS NAcc activation in schizophrenia varied less according to the relative riskiness of uncertain rewards compared to controls, suggesting aberrations in reward processing. The lack of activation differences in other regions suggests similar risk evaluation. Less insular influence on the anterior cingulate may relate to attenuated salience attribution or inability for risk-related brain region collaboration to sufficiently perceive situational risk.
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Affiliation(s)
- John R Purcell
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
- Program in Neuroscience, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Brain Health Institute, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, USA
| | - Joshua W Brown
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
- Program in Neuroscience, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
| | - Rachel L Tullar
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
| | - Bess F Bloomer
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
| | - Dae-Jin Kim
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
| | - Alexandra B Moussa-Tooks
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
- Program in Neuroscience, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Katherine Dolan-Bennett
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
- Department of Psychological and Brain Science, Washington University, St. Louise, MO, USA
| | - Brianna M Bangert
- Program in Neuroscience, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
- College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA
| | - Krista M Wisner
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
- Program in Neuroscience, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
| | - Nancy B Lundin
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
- Program in Neuroscience, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Brian F O'Donnell
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
- Program in Neuroscience, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
| | - William P Hetrick
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
- Program in Neuroscience, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
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5
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Tangmose K, Rostrup E, Bojesen KB, Sigvard A, Jessen K, Johansen LB, Glenthøj BY, Nielsen MØ. Reward disturbances in antipsychotic-naïve patients with first-episode psychosis and their association to glutamate levels. Psychol Med 2023; 53:1629-1638. [PMID: 37010221 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291721003305] [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] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Aberrant anticipation of motivational salient events and processing of outcome evaluation in striatal and prefrontal regions have been suggested to underlie psychosis. Altered glutamate levels have likewise been linked to schizophrenia. Glutamatergic abnormalities may affect the processing of motivational salience and outcome evaluation. It remains unresolved, whether glutamatergic dysfunction is associated with the coding of motivational salience and outcome evaluation in antipsychotic-naïve patients with first-episode psychosis. METHODS Fifty-one antipsychotic-naïve patients with first-episode psychosis (22 ± 5.2 years, female/male: 31/20) and 52 healthy controls (HC) matched on age, sex, and parental education underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (3T) in one session. Brain responses to motivational salience and negative outcome evaluation (NOE) were examined using a monetary incentive delay task. Glutamate levels were estimated in the left thalamus and anterior cingulate cortex using LCModel. RESULTS Patients displayed a positive signal change to NOE in the caudate (p = 0.001) and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC; p = 0.003) compared to HC. No group difference was observed in motivational salience or in levels of glutamate. There was a different association between NOE signal in the caudate and DLPFC and thalamic glutamate levels in patients and HC due to a negative correlation in patients (caudate: p = 0.004, DLPFC: p = 0.005) that was not seen in HC. CONCLUSIONS Our findings confirm prior findings of abnormal outcome evaluation as a part of the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. The results also suggest a possible link between thalamic glutamate and NOE signaling in patients with first-episode psychosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karen Tangmose
- Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CNSR) and Center for Clinical Intervention and Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CINS), Mental Health Center Glostrup, Glostrup, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Egill Rostrup
- Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CNSR) and Center for Clinical Intervention and Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CINS), Mental Health Center Glostrup, Glostrup, Denmark
- Functional Imaging Unit, Department of Clinical Physiology, Nuclear Medicine and PET, Rigshospitalet Glostrup, University of Copenhagen, Glostrup, Denmark
| | - Kirsten B Bojesen
- Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CNSR) and Center for Clinical Intervention and Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CINS), Mental Health Center Glostrup, Glostrup, Denmark
| | - Anne Sigvard
- Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CNSR) and Center for Clinical Intervention and Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CINS), Mental Health Center Glostrup, Glostrup, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Kasper Jessen
- Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CNSR) and Center for Clinical Intervention and Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CINS), Mental Health Center Glostrup, Glostrup, Denmark
| | - Louise Baruël Johansen
- Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CNSR) and Center for Clinical Intervention and Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CINS), Mental Health Center Glostrup, Glostrup, Denmark
| | - Birte Y Glenthøj
- Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CNSR) and Center for Clinical Intervention and Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CINS), Mental Health Center Glostrup, Glostrup, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Mette Ødegaard Nielsen
- Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CNSR) and Center for Clinical Intervention and Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CINS), Mental Health Center Glostrup, Glostrup, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
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6
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Dysregulated affective arousal regulates reward-based decision making in patients with schizophrenia: an integrated study. SCHIZOPHRENIA 2022; 8:26. [PMID: 35314840 PMCID: PMC8938557 DOI: 10.1038/s41537-022-00234-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2021] [Accepted: 02/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Schizophrenia is a chronic and severe mental disorder. Dysregulated decision-making and affective processing have been implicated in patients with schizophrenia (SZ) and have significant impacts on their cognitive and social functions. However, little is known about how affective arousal influences reward-based decision-making in SZ. Taking advantage of a two-choice probabilistic gambling task and utilizing three facial expressions as affective primes (i.e., neutral, angry, and happy conditions) in each trial, we investigated how affective arousal influences reward-related choice based on behavioral, model fitting, and feedback-related negativity (FRN) data in 38 SZ and 26 healthy controls (CTRL). We also correlated our measurements with patients’ symptom severity. Compared with the CTRL group, SZ expressed blunted responses to angry facial primes. They had lower total game scores and displayed more maladaptive choice strategies (i.e., less win-stay and more lose-shift) and errors in monitoring rewards. Model fitting results revealed that the SZ group had a higher learning rate and lower choice consistency, especially in the happy condition. Brain activity data further indicated that SZ had smaller amplitudes of FRN than their controls in the angry and happy conditions. Importantly, the SZ group exhibited attenuated affective influence on decision-making, and their impairments in decision-making were only correlated with their clinical symptoms in the angry condition. Our findings imply the affective processing is dysregulated in SZ and it is selectively involved in the regulation of choice strategies, choice behaviors, and FRN in SZ, which lead to impairments in reward-related decision-making, especially in the angry condition.
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Wang YY, Wang Y, Huang J, Sun XH, Wang XZ, Zhang SX, Zhu GH, Lui SSY, Cheung EFC, Sun HW, Chan RCK. Shared and distinct reward neural mechanisms among patients with schizophrenia, major depressive disorder, and bipolar disorder: an effort-based functional imaging study. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 2022; 272:859-871. [PMID: 35079855 DOI: 10.1007/s00406-021-01376-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2021] [Accepted: 12/16/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Unwillingness to exert effort for rewards has been found in patients with schizophrenia (SCZ), major depressive disorder (MDD), and bipolar disorder (BD), but the underlying shared and distinct reward neural mechanisms remain unclear. This study aimed to compare the neural correlates of such impairments across different diagnoses. The neural responses in an effort-expenditure for reward task (EEfRT) were assessed in 20 SCZ patients, 23 MDD patients, 17 BD patients, and 30 healthy controls (HC). The results found shared activation in the cingulate gyrus, the medial frontal gyrus, and the middle frontal gyrus during the EEfRT administration. Compared to HC, SCZ patients exhibited stronger variations of functional connectivity between the right caudate and the left amygdala, the left hippocampus and the left putamen, with increase in reward magnitude. In MDD patients, an enhanced activation compared to HC in the right superior temporal gyrus was found with the increase of reward magnitude. The variations of functional connectivity between the caudate and the right cingulate gyrus, the left postcentral gyrus and the left inferior parietal lobule with increase in reward magnitude were weaker than that found in HC. In BD patients, the degree of activation in the left precuneus was increased, but that in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex was decreased with increase in reward probability compared to HC. These findings demonstrate both shared and distinct reward neural mechanisms associated with EEfRT in patients with SCZ, MDD, and BD, implicating potential intervention targets to alleviate amotivation in these clinical disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yan-Yu Wang
- School of Psychology, Weifang Medical University, Shandong, 261053, China
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory; CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 16 Lincui Road, Beijing, 100101, China
| | - Yi Wang
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory; CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 16 Lincui Road, Beijing, 100101, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100048, China
| | - Jia Huang
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory; CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 16 Lincui Road, Beijing, 100101, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100048, China
| | - Xi-He Sun
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging Centre, Affiliated Hospital of Weifang Medical University, Shandong, 261031, China
| | - Xi-Zhen Wang
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging Centre, Affiliated Hospital of Weifang Medical University, Shandong, 261031, China
| | - Shu-Xian Zhang
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging Centre, Affiliated Hospital of Weifang Medical University, Shandong, 261031, China
| | - Guo-Hui Zhu
- Mental Health Centre of Weifang City, Shandong, 261071, China
| | - Simon S Y Lui
- Department of Psychiatry, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
| | - Eric F C Cheung
- Castle Peak Hospital, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
| | - Hong-Wei Sun
- School of Psychology, Weifang Medical University, Shandong, 261053, China
| | - Raymond C K Chan
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory; CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 16 Lincui Road, Beijing, 100101, China.
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100048, China.
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8
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Lei W, Liu K, Chen G, Tolomeo S, Liu C, Peng Z, Liu B, Liang X, Huang C, Xiang B, Zhou J, Zhao F, Yu R, Chen J. Blunted reward prediction error signals in internet gaming disorder. Psychol Med 2022; 52:2124-2133. [PMID: 33143778 DOI: 10.1017/s003329172000402x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Internet gaming disorder (IGD) is a type of behavioural addictions. One of the key features of addiction is the excessive exposure to addictive objectives (e.g. drugs) reduces the sensitivity of the brain reward system to daily rewards (e.g. money). This is thought to be mediated via the signals expressed as dopaminergic reward prediction error (RPE). Emerging evidence highlights blunted RPE signals in drug addictions. However, no study has examined whether IGD also involves alterations in RPE signals that are observed in other types of addictions. METHODS To fill this gap, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging data from 45 IGD and 42 healthy controls (HCs) during a reward-related prediction-error task and utilised a psychophysiological interaction (PPI) analysis to characterise the underlying neural correlates of RPE and related functional connectivity. RESULTS Relative to HCs, IGD individuals showed impaired reinforcement learning, blunted RPE signals in multiple regions of the brain reward system, including the right caudate, left orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), and right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Moreover, the PPI analysis revealed a pattern of hyperconnectivity between the right caudate, right putamen, bilateral DLPFC, and right dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) in the IGD group. Finally, linear regression suggested that the connection between the right DLPFC and right dACC could significantly predict the variation of RPE signals in the left OFC. CONCLUSIONS These results highlight disrupted RPE signalling and hyperconnectivity between regions of the brain reward system in IGD. Reinforcement learning deficits may be crucial underlying characteristics of IGD pathophysiology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Lei
- Department of Psychiatry, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China
- Laboratory of Neurological Diseases and Brain Function, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China
- Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Luzhou, China
| | - Kezhi Liu
- Department of Psychiatry, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China
- Laboratory of Neurological Diseases and Brain Function, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China
| | - Guangxiang Chen
- Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Luzhou, China
- Radiology Department, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China
| | - Serenella Tolomeo
- Department of Psychology, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Cuizhen Liu
- Department of Psychology, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Zhenlei Peng
- Department of Psychiatry, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China
| | - Boya Liu
- Department of Psychiatry, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China
| | - Xuemei Liang
- Department of Psychiatry, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China
| | - Chaohua Huang
- Department of Psychiatry, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China
| | - Bo Xiang
- Department of Psychiatry, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China
| | - Jia Zhou
- School of Humanities and Management Science, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China
| | - Fulin Zhao
- Department of Medical Imaging, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China
| | - Rongjun Yu
- Department of Psychology, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Jing Chen
- Department of Psychiatry, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China
- Laboratory of Neurological Diseases and Brain Function, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China
- Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Luzhou, China
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9
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Berkovitch L, Gaillard R, Abdel-Ahad P, Smadja S, Gauthier C, Attali D, Beaucamps H, Plaze M, Pessiglione M, Vinckier F. Preserved Unconscious Processing in Schizophrenia: The Case of Motivation. Schizophr Bull 2022; 48:1094-1103. [PMID: 35751516 PMCID: PMC9434445 DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbac076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND HYPOTHESIS Motivation deficit is a hallmark of schizophrenia that has a strong impact on their daily life. An alteration of reward processing has been repeatedly highlighted in schizophrenia, but to what extent it involves a deficient amplification of reward representation through conscious processing remains unclear. Indeed, patients with schizophrenia exhibit a disruption of conscious processing, whereas unconscious processing appears to be largely preserved. STUDY DESIGN To further explore the nature of motivational deficit in schizophrenia and the implication of consciousness disruption in this symptom, we used a masking paradigm testing motivation both under conscious and unconscious conditions in patients with schizophrenia (n = 31) and healthy controls (n = 32). Participants were exposed to conscious or subliminal coin pictures representing money at stake and were subsequently asked to perform an effort-task by squeezing a handgrip as hard as possible to win this reward. STUDY RESULTS We observed a preserved effect of unconscious monetary rewards on force production in both groups, without any significant difference between them. By contrast, in the conscious condition, patients with schizophrenia were less sensitive to rewards than controls. Our results confirm that unconscious incentives have effects on exerted forces in the general population, and demonstrate that patients with schizophrenia exhibit a dissociation between an impaired conscious motivation and a preserved unconscious motivation. CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest the existence of several steps in motivational processes that can be differentially affected and might have implication for patient care.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucie Berkovitch
- To whom correspondence should be addressed; Service Hospitalo-Universitaire, Pôle Hospitalo-Universitaire Psychiatrie Paris 15, GHU Paris Psychiatrie et Neurosciences, Centre Hospitalier Sainte Anne, 1 rue Cabanis, 75014 Paris, France; tel: 0033145658867, fax: 0033145657689, e-mail:
| | - Raphaël Gaillard
- Université Paris Cité, F-75006 Paris, France,Department of Psychiatry, Service Hospitalo-Universitaire, GHU Paris Psychiatrie and Neurosciences, F-75014 Paris, France
| | - Pierre Abdel-Ahad
- Université Paris Cité, F-75006 Paris, France,Department of Psychiatry, Service Hospitalo-Universitaire, GHU Paris Psychiatrie and Neurosciences, F-75014 Paris, France
| | - Sarah Smadja
- Université Paris Cité, F-75006 Paris, France,Department of Psychiatry, Service Hospitalo-Universitaire, GHU Paris Psychiatrie and Neurosciences, F-75014 Paris, France
| | - Claire Gauthier
- Université Paris Cité, F-75006 Paris, France,Department of Psychiatry, Service Hospitalo-Universitaire, GHU Paris Psychiatrie and Neurosciences, F-75014 Paris, France
| | - David Attali
- Université Paris Cité, F-75006 Paris, France,Department of Psychiatry, Service Hospitalo-Universitaire, GHU Paris Psychiatrie and Neurosciences, F-75014 Paris, France
| | - Hadrien Beaucamps
- Université Paris Cité, F-75006 Paris, France,Department of Psychiatry, Service Hospitalo-Universitaire, GHU Paris Psychiatrie and Neurosciences, F-75014 Paris, France
| | - Marion Plaze
- Université Paris Cité, F-75006 Paris, France,Department of Psychiatry, Service Hospitalo-Universitaire, GHU Paris Psychiatrie and Neurosciences, F-75014 Paris, France
| | - Mathias Pessiglione
- Motivation, Brain and Behavior (MBB) Lab, Paris Brain Institute (ICM), Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière, F-75013 Paris, France,Sorbonne University, Inserm, CNRS, Paris, France
| | - Fabien Vinckier
- Université Paris Cité, F-75006 Paris, France,Department of Psychiatry, Service Hospitalo-Universitaire, GHU Paris Psychiatrie and Neurosciences, F-75014 Paris, France,Motivation, Brain and Behavior (MBB) Lab, Paris Brain Institute (ICM), Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière, F-75013 Paris, France
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10
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Seitz BM, Hoang IB, DiFazio LE, Blaisdell AP, Sharpe MJ. Dopamine errors drive excitatory and inhibitory components of backward conditioning in an outcome-specific manner. Curr Biol 2022; 32:3210-3218.e3. [PMID: 35752165 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.06.035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2022] [Revised: 04/29/2022] [Accepted: 06/13/2022] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
For over two decades, phasic activity in midbrain dopamine neurons was considered synonymous with the prediction error in temporal-difference reinforcement learning.1-4 Central to this proposal is the notion that reward-predictive stimuli become endowed with the scalar value of predicted rewards. When these cues are subsequently encountered, their predictive value is compared to the value of the actual reward received, allowing for the calculation of prediction errors.5,6 Phasic firing of dopamine neurons was proposed to reflect this computation,1,2 facilitating the backpropagation of value from the predicted reward to the reward-predictive stimulus, thus reducing future prediction errors. There are two critical assumptions of this proposal: (1) that dopamine errors can only facilitate learning about scalar value and not more complex features of predicted rewards, and (2) that the dopamine signal can only be involved in anticipatory cue-reward learning in which cues or actions precede rewards. Recent work7-15 has challenged the first assumption, demonstrating that phasic dopamine signals across species are involved in learning about more complex features of the predicted outcomes, in a manner that transcends this value computation. Here, we tested the validity of the second assumption. Specifically, we examined whether phasic midbrain dopamine activity would be necessary for backward conditioning-when a neutral cue reliably follows a rewarding outcome.16-20 Using a specific Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer (PIT) procedure,21-23 we show rats learn both excitatory and inhibitory components of a backward association, and that this association entails knowledge of the specific identity of the reward and cue. We demonstrate that brief optogenetic inhibition of VTADA neurons timed to the transition between the reward and cue reduces both of these components of backward conditioning. These findings suggest VTADA neurons are capable of facilitating associations between contiguously occurring events, regardless of the content of those events. We conclude that these data may be in line with suggestions that the VTADA error acts as a universal teaching signal. This may provide insight into why dopamine function has been implicated in myriad psychological disorders that are characterized by very distinct reinforcement-learning deficits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin M Seitz
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Portola Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 91602, USA
| | - Ivy B Hoang
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Portola Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 91602, USA
| | - Lauren E DiFazio
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Portola Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 91602, USA
| | - Aaron P Blaisdell
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Portola Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 91602, USA
| | - Melissa J Sharpe
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Portola Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 91602, USA.
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11
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Millard SJ, Bearden CE, Karlsgodt KH, Sharpe MJ. The prediction-error hypothesis of schizophrenia: new data point to circuit-specific changes in dopamine activity. Neuropsychopharmacology 2022; 47:628-640. [PMID: 34588607 PMCID: PMC8782867 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-021-01188-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2021] [Revised: 08/23/2021] [Accepted: 09/07/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Schizophrenia is a severe psychiatric disorder affecting 21 million people worldwide. People with schizophrenia suffer from symptoms including psychosis and delusions, apathy, anhedonia, and cognitive deficits. Strikingly, schizophrenia is characterised by a learning paradox involving difficulties learning from rewarding events, whilst simultaneously 'overlearning' about irrelevant or neutral information. While dysfunction in dopaminergic signalling has long been linked to the pathophysiology of schizophrenia, a cohesive framework that accounts for this learning paradox remains elusive. Recently, there has been an explosion of new research investigating how dopamine contributes to reinforcement learning, which illustrates that midbrain dopamine contributes in complex ways to reinforcement learning, not previously envisioned. This new data brings new possibilities for how dopamine signalling contributes to the symptomatology of schizophrenia. Building on recent work, we present a new neural framework for how we might envision specific dopamine circuits contributing to this learning paradox in schizophrenia in the context of models of reinforcement learning. Further, we discuss avenues of preclinical research with the use of cutting-edge neuroscience techniques where aspects of this model may be tested. Ultimately, it is hoped that this review will spur to action more research utilising specific reinforcement learning paradigms in preclinical models of schizophrenia, to reconcile seemingly disparate symptomatology and develop more efficient therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel J. Millard
- grid.19006.3e0000 0000 9632 6718Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095 USA
| | - Carrie E. Bearden
- grid.19006.3e0000 0000 9632 6718Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095 USA ,grid.19006.3e0000 0000 9632 6718Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095 USA
| | - Katherine H. Karlsgodt
- grid.19006.3e0000 0000 9632 6718Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095 USA ,grid.19006.3e0000 0000 9632 6718Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095 USA
| | - Melissa J. Sharpe
- grid.19006.3e0000 0000 9632 6718Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095 USA
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12
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Nielsen MØ, Rostrup E, Hilker R, Legind C, Anhøj S, Robbins TW, Sahakian BJ, Fagerlund B, Glenthøj B. Reward Processing as an Indicator of Vulnerability or Compensatory Resilience in Psychoses? Results From a Twin Study. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY GLOBAL OPEN SCIENCE 2022; 3:47-55. [PMID: 36712565 PMCID: PMC9874133 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsgos.2022.01.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2021] [Revised: 01/04/2022] [Accepted: 01/06/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Findings of reward disturbances in unaffected relatives of patients with schizophrenia suggest reward disturbances as an endophenotype for schizophrenia. Twin studies, where 1 twin has been diagnosed with a schizophrenia spectrum disorder, can further explore this. Methods We used Danish registries to identify twin pairs with at least 1 twin having a schizophrenia spectrum disorder diagnosis and control twin pairs matched on age, sex, and zygosity. The analyses included data from 34 unaffected co-twins (16 females), 42 probands with schizophrenia spectrum disorder (17 females), and 83 control twins (42 females). Participants performed a modified incentive delay task during functional magnetic resonance imaging. Whole-brain group differences were analyzed by performing comparisons between co-twins and control twins. Correlations with cognitive flexibility were tested. Results Compared with control twins, co-twins showed no differences in striatal regions, but increased signal in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) during missed target contrast was observed. In co-twins, increased DLPFC signal was associated with lower intra-extra dimensional set-shifting scores indicative of higher cognitive flexibility. Conclusions Unaffected co-twins did not have decreased striatal activity during anticipation as previously reported for patients with schizophrenia. Instead, they showed increased activity in the DLPFC during evaluation of missed target contrast, which correlated with their level of cognitive flexibility. Unaffected co-twins had no diagnosis at a mean age of 40 years. This could indicate that greater cognitive flexibility and increased activity in the right DLPFC during processing of unexpected negative outcome represents a compensatory resilience mechanism in predisposed twins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mette Ødegaard Nielsen
- Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research and Centre for Clinical Intervention and Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research, Mental Health Centre Glostrup, Copenhagen, Denmark,Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Science, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark,Address correspondence to Mette Ødegaard Nielsen, M.D., Ph.D.
| | - Egill Rostrup
- Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research and Centre for Clinical Intervention and Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research, Mental Health Centre Glostrup, Copenhagen, Denmark,Functional Imaging Unit, Department of Clinical Physiology, Nuclear Medicine and PET, Rigshospitalet, Glostrup, Denmark
| | - Rikke Hilker
- Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research and Centre for Clinical Intervention and Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research, Mental Health Centre Glostrup, Copenhagen, Denmark,Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Science, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Christian Legind
- Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research and Centre for Clinical Intervention and Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research, Mental Health Centre Glostrup, Copenhagen, Denmark,Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Science, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Simon Anhøj
- Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research and Centre for Clinical Intervention and Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research, Mental Health Centre Glostrup, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Trevor William Robbins
- Department of Psychology, Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Barbara J. Sahakian
- Department of Psychiatry, Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Birgitte Fagerlund
- Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research and Centre for Clinical Intervention and Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research, Mental Health Centre Glostrup, Copenhagen, Denmark,Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Birte Glenthøj
- Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research and Centre for Clinical Intervention and Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research, Mental Health Centre Glostrup, Copenhagen, Denmark,Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Science, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
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13
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Kesby JP, Murray GK, Knolle F. Neural Circuitry of Salience and Reward Processing in Psychosis. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY GLOBAL OPEN SCIENCE 2021; 3:33-46. [PMID: 36712572 PMCID: PMC9874126 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsgos.2021.12.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2021] [Revised: 11/25/2021] [Accepted: 12/01/2021] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The processing of salient and rewarding stimuli is integral to engaging our attention, stimulating anticipation for future events, and driving goal-directed behaviors. Widespread impairments in these processes are observed in psychosis, which may be associated with worse functional outcomes or mechanistically linked to the development of symptoms. Here, we summarize the current knowledge of behavioral and functional neuroimaging in salience, prediction error, and reward. Although each is a specific process, they are situated in multiple feedback and feedforward systems integral to decision making and cognition more generally. We argue that the origin of salience and reward processing dysfunctions may be centered in the subcortex during the earliest stages of psychosis, with cortical abnormalities being initially more spared but becoming more prominent in established psychotic illness/schizophrenia. The neural circuits underpinning salience and reward processing may provide targets for delaying or preventing progressive behavioral and neurobiological decline.
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Affiliation(s)
- James P. Kesby
- Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia,QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia,Address correspondence to James Kesby, Ph.D.
| | - Graham K. Murray
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia,Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom,Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Franziska Knolle
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom,Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Neuroradiology, School of Medicine, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany,Franziska Knolle, Ph.D.
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14
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Purves-Tyson TD, Brown AM, Weissleder C, Rothmond DA, Shannon Weickert C. Reductions in midbrain GABAergic and dopamine neuron markers are linked in schizophrenia. Mol Brain 2021; 14:96. [PMID: 34174930 PMCID: PMC8235806 DOI: 10.1186/s13041-021-00805-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2021] [Accepted: 06/07/2021] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Reductions in the GABAergic neurotransmitter system exist across multiple brain regions in schizophrenia and encompass both pre- and postsynaptic components. While reduced midbrain GABAergic inhibitory neurotransmission may contribute to the hyperdopaminergia thought to underpin psychosis in schizophrenia, molecular changes consistent with this have not been reported. We hypothesised that reduced GABA-related molecular markers would be found in the midbrain of people with schizophrenia and that these would correlate with dopaminergic molecular changes. We hypothesised that downregulation of inhibitory neuron markers would be exacerbated in schizophrenia cases with high levels of neuroinflammation. Eight GABAergic-related transcripts were measured with quantitative PCR, and glutamate decarboxylase (GAD) 65/67 and GABAA alpha 3 (α3) (GABRA3) protein were measured with immunoblotting, in post-mortem midbrain (28/28 and 28/26 control/schizophrenia cases for mRNA and protein, respectively), and analysed by both diagnosis and inflammatory subgroups (as previously defined by higher levels of four pro-inflammatory cytokine transcripts). We found reductions (21 – 44%) in mRNA encoding both presynaptic and postsynaptic proteins, vesicular GABA transporter (VGAT), GAD1, and parvalbumin (PV) mRNAs and four alpha subunits (α1, α2, α3, α5) of the GABAA receptor in people with schizophrenia compared to controls (p < 0.05). Gene expression of somatostatin (SST) was unchanged (p = 0.485). We confirmed the reduction in GAD at the protein level (34%, p < 0.05). When stratifying by inflammation, only GABRA3 mRNA exhibited more pronounced changes in high compared to low inflammatory subgroups in schizophrenia. GABRA3 protein was expressed by 98% of tyrosine hydroxylase-positive neurons and was 23% lower in schizophrenia, though this did not reach statistical significance (p > 0.05). Expression of transcripts for GABAA receptor alpha subunits 2 and 3 (GABRA2, GABRA3) were positively correlated with tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and dopamine transporter (DAT) transcripts in schizophrenia cases (GABRA2; r > 0.630, GABRA3; r > 0.762, all p < 0.001) but not controls (GABRA2; r < − 0.200, GABRA3; r < 0.310, all p > 0.05). Taken together, our results support a profound disruption to inhibitory neurotransmission in the substantia nigra regardless of inflammatory status, which provides a potential mechanism for disinhibition of nigrostriatal dopamine neurotransmission.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tertia D Purves-Tyson
- Schizophrenia Research Laboratory, Neuroscience Research Australia, 139 Barker Street, Margarete Ainsworth Building, Level 5, Randwick, NSW, 2031, Australia. .,School of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia.
| | - Amelia M Brown
- Schizophrenia Research Laboratory, Neuroscience Research Australia, 139 Barker Street, Margarete Ainsworth Building, Level 5, Randwick, NSW, 2031, Australia
| | - Christin Weissleder
- Schizophrenia Research Laboratory, Neuroscience Research Australia, 139 Barker Street, Margarete Ainsworth Building, Level 5, Randwick, NSW, 2031, Australia
| | - Debora A Rothmond
- Schizophrenia Research Laboratory, Neuroscience Research Australia, 139 Barker Street, Margarete Ainsworth Building, Level 5, Randwick, NSW, 2031, Australia
| | - Cynthia Shannon Weickert
- Schizophrenia Research Laboratory, Neuroscience Research Australia, 139 Barker Street, Margarete Ainsworth Building, Level 5, Randwick, NSW, 2031, Australia. .,School of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia. .,Department of Neuroscience & Physiology, Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, 13210, USA.
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15
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Pretus C, Bergé D, Guell X, Pérez V, Vilarroya Ó. Brain activity and connectivity differences in reward value discrimination during effort computation in schizophrenia. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 2021; 271:647-659. [PMID: 32494887 DOI: 10.1007/s00406-020-01145-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2020] [Accepted: 05/23/2020] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Negative symptoms in the motivational domain are strongly correlated with deficits in social and occupational functioning in schizophrenia. However, the neural substrates underlying these symptoms remain largely unknown. Twenty-eight adults with schizophrenia and twenty healthy volunteers underwent functional magnetic resonance while completing a lottery game designed to capture reward-related cognitive processes. Each trial demanded an initial investment of effort in form of key presses to increase the odds of winning. Brain activity in response to different reward cues (1 euro versus 1 cent) was compared between groups. Whereas controls invested more effort in improving their chances to win 1 euro compared to 1 cent in the lottery game, patients invested similarly high amounts of effort in both reward conditions. The neuroimaging analysis revealed lower neural activity in the bilateral caudate and cingulo-opercular circuits and decreased effective connectivity between reward-associated areas and neural nodes in the frontoparietal and salience network in response to high- versus low-reward conditions in schizophrenia patients compared to controls. Effective connectivity differences across conditions were associated with amotivation symptoms in patients. Overall, our data provide the evidence of alterations in neural activity in the caudate and cingulo-opercular "task maintenance" circuits and frontoparietal effective connectivity with reward-associated nodes as possible underlying mechanisms of reward value discrimination deficits affecting effort computation in schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clara Pretus
- Departament de Psiquiatria i Medicina Legal, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain. .,Institut Hospital del Mar d'Investigacions Mèdiques (IMIM), Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Daniel Bergé
- Departament de Psiquiatria i Medicina Legal, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.,Institut Hospital del Mar d'Investigacions Mèdiques (IMIM), Barcelona, Spain.,Institut de Neuropsiquiatria i Addiccions, Hospital del Mar, Barcelona, Spain.,Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red, Área de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Madrid, Spain
| | - Xavier Guell
- Departament de Psiquiatria i Medicina Legal, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.,Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.,Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Victor Pérez
- Departament de Psiquiatria i Medicina Legal, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.,Institut Hospital del Mar d'Investigacions Mèdiques (IMIM), Barcelona, Spain.,Institut de Neuropsiquiatria i Addiccions, Hospital del Mar, Barcelona, Spain.,Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red, Área de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Madrid, Spain
| | - Óscar Vilarroya
- Departament de Psiquiatria i Medicina Legal, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.,Institut Hospital del Mar d'Investigacions Mèdiques (IMIM), Barcelona, Spain
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16
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Reinforcement learning abnormalities in the attenuated psychosis syndrome and first episode psychosis. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol 2021; 47:11-19. [PMID: 33819817 PMCID: PMC8197752 DOI: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2021.03.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2020] [Revised: 03/11/2021] [Accepted: 03/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Prior studies indicate that chronic schizophrenia (SZ) is associated with a specific profile of reinforcement learning abnormalities. These impairments are characterized by: 1) reductions in learning rate, and 2) impaired Go learning and intact NoGo learning. Furthermore, each of these deficits are associated with greater severity of negative symptoms, consistent with theoretical perspectives positing that avolition and anhedonia are associated with impaired value representation. However, it is unclear whether these deficits extend to earlier phases of psychotic illness and when individuals are unmedicated. Two studies were conducted to examine reinforcement learning deficits in earlier phases of psychosis and in high risk patients. In study 1, participants included 35 participants with first episode psychosis (FEP) with limited antipsychotic medication exposure and 25 healthy controls (HC). Study 2 included 17 antipsychotic naïve individuals who were at clinical high-risk for psychosis (CHR) (i.e., attenuated psychosis syndrome) and 18 matched healthy controls (HC). In both studies, participants completed the Temporal Utility Integration Task, a measure of probabilistic reinforcement learning that contained Go and NoGo learning blocks. FEP displayed impaired Go and NoGo learning. In contrast, CHR did not display impairments in Go or NoGo learning. Impaired Go learning was not significantly associated with clinical outcomes in the CHR or FEP samples. Findings provide new evidence for areas of spared and impaired reinforcement learning in early phases of psychosis.
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17
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Yaple ZA, Tolomeo S, Yu R. Abnormal prediction error processing in schizophrenia and depression. Hum Brain Mapp 2021; 42:3547-3560. [PMID: 33955106 PMCID: PMC8249895 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.25453] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2020] [Revised: 04/01/2021] [Accepted: 04/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
To make adaptive decisions under uncertainty, individuals need to actively monitor the discrepancy between expected outcomes and actual outcomes, known as prediction errors. Reward‐based learning deficits have been shown in both depression and schizophrenia patients. For this study, we compiled studies that investigated prediction error processing in depression and schizophrenia patients and performed a series of meta‐analyses. In both groups, positive t‐maps of prediction error tend to yield striatum activity across studies. The analysis of negative t‐maps of prediction error revealed two large clusters within the right superior and inferior frontal lobes in schizophrenia and the medial prefrontal cortex and bilateral insula in depression. The concordant posterior cingulate activity was observed in both patient groups, more prominent in the depression group and absent in the healthy control group. These findings suggest a possible role in dopamine‐rich areas associated with the encoding of prediction errors in depression and schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Serenella Tolomeo
- Department of Psychology, National University of Singapore, Singapore
| | - Rongjun Yu
- Department of Management, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, China.,Department of Sport, Physical Education and Health, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, China.,Department of Physics, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, China
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18
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Li P, Jing RX, Zhao RJ, Shi L, Sun HQ, Ding Z, Lin X, Lu L, Fan Y. Association between functional and structural connectivity of the corticostriatal network in people with schizophrenia and unaffected first-degree relatives. J Psychiatry Neurosci 2020; 45:395-405. [PMID: 32436671 PMCID: PMC7595738 DOI: 10.1503/jpn.190015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Dysfunction of the corticostriatal network has been implicated in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia, but findings are inconsistent within and across imaging modalities. We used multimodal neuroimaging to analyze functional and structural connectivity in the corticostriatal network in people with schizophrenia and unaffected first-degree relatives. METHODS We collected resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging and diffusion tensor imaging scans from people with schizophrenia (n = 47), relatives (n = 30) and controls (n = 49). We compared seed-based functional and structural connectivity across groups within striatal subdivisions defined a priori. RESULTS Compared with controls, people with schizophrenia had altered connectivity between the subdivisions and brain regions in the frontal and temporal cortices and thalamus; relatives showed different connectivity between the subdivisions and the right anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and the left precuneus. Post-hoc t tests revealed that people with schizophrenia had decreased functional connectivity in the ventral loop (ventral striatum-right ACC) and dorsal loop (executive striatum-right ACC and sensorimotor striatum-right ACC), accompanied by decreased structural connectivity; relatives had reduced functional connectivity in the ventral loop and the dorsal loop (right executive striatum-right ACC) and no significant difference in structural connectivity compared with the other groups. Functional connectivity among people with schizophrenia in the bilateral ventral striatum-right ACC was correlated with positive symptom severity. LIMITATIONS The number of relatives included was moderate. Striatal subdivisions were defined based on a relatively low threshold, and structural connectivity was measured based on fractional anisotropy alone. CONCLUSION Our findings provide insight into the role of hypoconnectivity of the ventral corticostriatal system in people with schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peng Li
- From the Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), and National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Peking University, Beijing, China (Li, Shi, Sun, Lin, Lu); the National Laboratory of Pattern Recognition, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China (Jing); the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China (Jing); the Department of Alcohol and Drug Dependence, Beijing Hui-Long-Guan Hospital, Peking University, Beijing, China (Zhao); the National Institute on Drug Dependence and Beijing Key Laboratory of Drug Dependence, Peking University, Beijing, China (Ding); the Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences and PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Beijing, China (Lin, Lu); and the Department of Radiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA (Fan)
| | - Ri-Xing Jing
- From the Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), and National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Peking University, Beijing, China (Li, Shi, Sun, Lin, Lu); the National Laboratory of Pattern Recognition, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China (Jing); the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China (Jing); the Department of Alcohol and Drug Dependence, Beijing Hui-Long-Guan Hospital, Peking University, Beijing, China (Zhao); the National Institute on Drug Dependence and Beijing Key Laboratory of Drug Dependence, Peking University, Beijing, China (Ding); the Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences and PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Beijing, China (Lin, Lu); and the Department of Radiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA (Fan)
| | - Rong-Jiang Zhao
- From the Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), and National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Peking University, Beijing, China (Li, Shi, Sun, Lin, Lu); the National Laboratory of Pattern Recognition, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China (Jing); the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China (Jing); the Department of Alcohol and Drug Dependence, Beijing Hui-Long-Guan Hospital, Peking University, Beijing, China (Zhao); the National Institute on Drug Dependence and Beijing Key Laboratory of Drug Dependence, Peking University, Beijing, China (Ding); the Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences and PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Beijing, China (Lin, Lu); and the Department of Radiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA (Fan)
| | - Le Shi
- From the Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), and National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Peking University, Beijing, China (Li, Shi, Sun, Lin, Lu); the National Laboratory of Pattern Recognition, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China (Jing); the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China (Jing); the Department of Alcohol and Drug Dependence, Beijing Hui-Long-Guan Hospital, Peking University, Beijing, China (Zhao); the National Institute on Drug Dependence and Beijing Key Laboratory of Drug Dependence, Peking University, Beijing, China (Ding); the Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences and PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Beijing, China (Lin, Lu); and the Department of Radiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA (Fan)
| | - Hong-Qiang Sun
- From the Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), and National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Peking University, Beijing, China (Li, Shi, Sun, Lin, Lu); the National Laboratory of Pattern Recognition, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China (Jing); the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China (Jing); the Department of Alcohol and Drug Dependence, Beijing Hui-Long-Guan Hospital, Peking University, Beijing, China (Zhao); the National Institute on Drug Dependence and Beijing Key Laboratory of Drug Dependence, Peking University, Beijing, China (Ding); the Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences and PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Beijing, China (Lin, Lu); and the Department of Radiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA (Fan)
| | - Zengbo Ding
- From the Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), and National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Peking University, Beijing, China (Li, Shi, Sun, Lin, Lu); the National Laboratory of Pattern Recognition, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China (Jing); the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China (Jing); the Department of Alcohol and Drug Dependence, Beijing Hui-Long-Guan Hospital, Peking University, Beijing, China (Zhao); the National Institute on Drug Dependence and Beijing Key Laboratory of Drug Dependence, Peking University, Beijing, China (Ding); the Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences and PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Beijing, China (Lin, Lu); and the Department of Radiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA (Fan)
| | - Xiao Lin
- From the Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), and National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Peking University, Beijing, China (Li, Shi, Sun, Lin, Lu); the National Laboratory of Pattern Recognition, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China (Jing); the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China (Jing); the Department of Alcohol and Drug Dependence, Beijing Hui-Long-Guan Hospital, Peking University, Beijing, China (Zhao); the National Institute on Drug Dependence and Beijing Key Laboratory of Drug Dependence, Peking University, Beijing, China (Ding); the Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences and PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Beijing, China (Lin, Lu); and the Department of Radiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA (Fan)
| | - Lin Lu
- From the Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), and National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Peking University, Beijing, China (Li, Shi, Sun, Lin, Lu); the National Laboratory of Pattern Recognition, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China (Jing); the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China (Jing); the Department of Alcohol and Drug Dependence, Beijing Hui-Long-Guan Hospital, Peking University, Beijing, China (Zhao); the National Institute on Drug Dependence and Beijing Key Laboratory of Drug Dependence, Peking University, Beijing, China (Ding); the Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences and PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Beijing, China (Lin, Lu); and the Department of Radiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA (Fan)
| | - Yong Fan
- From the Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), and National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Peking University, Beijing, China (Li, Shi, Sun, Lin, Lu); the National Laboratory of Pattern Recognition, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China (Jing); the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China (Jing); the Department of Alcohol and Drug Dependence, Beijing Hui-Long-Guan Hospital, Peking University, Beijing, China (Zhao); the National Institute on Drug Dependence and Beijing Key Laboratory of Drug Dependence, Peking University, Beijing, China (Ding); the Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences and PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Beijing, China (Lin, Lu); and the Department of Radiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA (Fan)
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19
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Howes OD, Hird EJ, Adams RA, Corlett PR, McGuire P. Aberrant Salience, Information Processing, and Dopaminergic Signaling in People at Clinical High Risk for Psychosis. Biol Psychiatry 2020; 88:304-314. [PMID: 32430200 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2020.03.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2019] [Revised: 03/10/2020] [Accepted: 03/10/2020] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
The aberrant salience hypothesis proposes that striatal dopamine dysregulation causes misattribution of salience to irrelevant stimuli leading to psychosis. Recently, new lines of preclinical evidence on information coding by subcortical dopamine coupled with computational models of the brain's ability to predict and make inferences about the world (predictive processing) provide a new perspective on this hypothesis. We review these and summarize the evidence for dopamine dysfunction, reward processing, and salience abnormalities in people at clinical high risk of psychosis (CHR) relative to findings in patients with psychosis. This review identifies consistent evidence for dysregulated subcortical dopamine function in people at CHR, but also indicates a number of areas where neurobiological processes are different in CHR subjects relative to patients with psychosis, particularly in reward processing. We then consider how predictive processing models may explain psychotic symptoms in terms of alterations in prediction error and precision signaling using Bayesian approaches. We also review the potential role of environmental risk factors, particularly early adverse life experiences, in influencing the prior expectations that individuals have about their world in terms of computational models of the progression from being at CHR to frank psychosis. We identify a number of key outstanding questions, including the relative roles of prediction error or precision signaling in the development of symptoms and the mechanism underlying dopamine dysfunction. Finally, we discuss how the integration of computational psychiatry with biological investigation may inform the treatment for people at CHR of psychosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oliver D Howes
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom; National Institute of Health Research Biomedical Research Centre at South London and Maudsley National Health Service Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom; Medical Research Council London Institute of Medical Sciences, Hammersmith Hospital, London, United Kingdom; Institute of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.
| | - Emily J Hird
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom; National Institute of Health Research Biomedical Research Centre at South London and Maudsley National Health Service Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom
| | - Rick A Adams
- Centre for Medical Image Computing, Department of Computer Science, University College London, London, United Kingdom; Max Planck University College London Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, London, United Kingdom
| | - Philip R Corlett
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Philip McGuire
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom; National Institute of Health Research Biomedical Research Centre at South London and Maudsley National Health Service Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom
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20
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Kirschner M, Rabinowitz A, Singer N, Dagher A. From apathy to addiction: Insights from neurology and psychiatry. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2020; 101:109926. [PMID: 32171904 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2020.109926] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2019] [Revised: 03/11/2020] [Accepted: 03/11/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
The tendency to engage in addictive behaviors has long been tied to the actions of the dopamine system. Early theories were based on the fact that all addictive drugs and behaviors (such as gambling) increase dopamine levels in the striatum, and the evidence that dopamine signaled reward or reward prediction error. However, with a changing emphasis of addiction away from purely pharmacological models that emphasize tolerance and withdrawal, towards one of behavioral dyscontrol, is there still a place for abnormal dopamine signaling in addiction? Here we recast the dopamine theory of addiction based on the idea that tonic dopamine may index a continuous phenotype that goes from apathy to impulsivity and compulsivity. Higher tonic dopamine signaling would make individuals vulnerable to drug reinforcement and cue-induced craving. We relate this to computational models of dopamine signaling, and review clinical and neuroimaging evidence from Parkinson's Disease, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder in support of this model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthias Kirschner
- McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, Montreal, Canada; Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric Hospital, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
| | - Arielle Rabinowitz
- McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, Montreal, Canada
| | - Neomi Singer
- McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, Montreal, Canada
| | - Alain Dagher
- McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, Montreal, Canada.
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21
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Katthagen T, Kaminski J, Heinz A, Buchert R, Schlagenhauf F. Striatal Dopamine and Reward Prediction Error Signaling in Unmedicated Schizophrenia Patients. Schizophr Bull 2020; 46:1535-1546. [PMID: 32318717 PMCID: PMC7751190 DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbaa055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Increased striatal dopamine synthesis capacity has consistently been reported in patients with schizophrenia. However, the mechanism translating this into behavior and symptoms remains unclear. It has been proposed that heightened striatal dopamine may blunt dopaminergic reward prediction error signaling during reinforcement learning. In this study, we investigated striatal dopamine synthesis capacity, reward prediction errors, and their association in unmedicated schizophrenia patients (n = 19) and healthy controls (n = 23). They took part in FDOPA-PET and underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanning, where they performed a reversal-learning paradigm. The groups were compared regarding dopamine synthesis capacity (Kicer), fMRI neural prediction error signals, and the correlation of both. Patients did not differ from controls with respect to striatal Kicer. Taking into account, comorbid alcohol abuse revealed that patients without such abuse showed elevated Kicer in the associative striatum, while those with abuse did not differ from controls. Comparing all patients to controls, patients performed worse during reversal learning and displayed reduced prediction error signaling in the ventral striatum. In controls, Kicer in the limbic striatum correlated with higher reward prediction error signaling, while there was no significant association in patients. Kicer in the associative striatum correlated with higher positive symptoms and blunted reward prediction error signaling was associated with negative symptoms. Our results suggest a dissociation between striatal subregions and symptom domains, with elevated dopamine synthesis capacity in the associative striatum contributing to positive symptoms while blunted prediction error signaling in the ventral striatum related to negative symptoms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Teresa Katthagen
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité Campus Mitte, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany,To whom correspondence should be addressed; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Campus Charité Mitte, Charitéplatz 1, 10117 Berlin, Germany; tel: +49-(0)-30-450-517389, fax: +49-(0)-30-450-517962, e-mail:
| | - Jakob Kaminski
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité Campus Mitte, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany,Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany,Max-Planck-Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Andreas Heinz
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité Campus Mitte, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany,Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany,Cluster of Excellence NeuroCure, Charité-Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Ralph Buchert
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Florian Schlagenhauf
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité Campus Mitte, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany,Max-Planck-Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany,Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Berlin, Germany
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22
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Amphetamine disrupts haemodynamic correlates of prediction errors in nucleus accumbens and orbitofrontal cortex. Neuropsychopharmacology 2020; 45:793-803. [PMID: 31703234 PMCID: PMC7075902 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-019-0564-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2019] [Revised: 10/02/2019] [Accepted: 10/29/2019] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
In an uncertain world, the ability to predict and update the relationships between environmental cues and outcomes is a fundamental element of adaptive behaviour. This type of learning is typically thought to depend on prediction error, the difference between expected and experienced events and in the reward domain that has been closely linked to mesolimbic dopamine. There is also increasing behavioural and neuroimaging evidence that disruption to this process may be a cross-diagnostic feature of several neuropsychiatric and neurological disorders in which dopamine is dysregulated. However, the precise relationship between haemodynamic measures, dopamine and reward-guided learning remains unclear. To help address this issue, we used a translational technique, oxygen amperometry, to record haemodynamic signals in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) and orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), while freely moving rats performed a probabilistic Pavlovian learning task. Using a model-based analysis approach to account for individual variations in learning, we found that the oxygen signal in the NAc correlated with a reward prediction error, whereas in the OFC it correlated with an unsigned prediction error or salience signal. Furthermore, an acute dose of amphetamine, creating a hyperdopaminergic state, disrupted rats' ability to discriminate between cues associated with either a high or a low probability of reward and concomitantly corrupted prediction error signalling. These results demonstrate parallel but distinct prediction error signals in NAc and OFC during learning, both of which are affected by psychostimulant administration. Furthermore, they establish the viability of tracking and manipulating haemodynamic signatures of reward-guided learning observed in human fMRI studies by using a proxy signal for BOLD in a freely behaving rodent.
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23
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Abstract
We report on the ongoing R21 project “Social Reward Learning in Schizophrenia”. Impairments in social cognition are a hallmark of schizophrenia. However, little work has been done on social reward learning deficits in schizophrenia. The overall goal of the project is to assess social reward learning in schizophrenia. A probabilistic reward learning (PRL) task is being used in the MRI scanner to evaluate reward learning to negative and positive social feedback. Monetary reward learning is used as a comparison to assess specificity. Behavioral outcomes and brain areas, included those involved in reward, are assessed in patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder and controls. It is also critical to determine whether decreased expected value (EV) of social stimuli and/or reward prediction error (RPE) learning underlie social reward learning deficits to inform potential treatment pathways. Our central hypothesis is that the pattern of social learning deficits is an extension of a more general reward learning impairment in schizophrenia and that social reward learning deficits critically contribute to deficits in social motivation and pleasure. We hypothesize that people with schizophrenia will show impaired behavioral social reward learning compared to controls, as well as decreased ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) EV signaling at time of choice and decreased striatal RPE signaling at time of outcome, with potentially greater impairment to positive than negative feedback. The grant is in its second year. It is hoped that this innovative approach may lead to novel and more targeted treatment approaches for social cognitive impairments, using cognitive remediation and/or brain stimulation.
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24
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Goldsmith DR, Rapaport MH. Inflammation and Negative Symptoms of Schizophrenia: Implications for Reward Processing and Motivational Deficits. Front Psychiatry 2020; 11:46. [PMID: 32153436 PMCID: PMC7044128 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2019] [Accepted: 01/20/2020] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Negative symptoms of schizophrenia are debilitating and chronic in nature, are difficult to treat, and contribute to poor functional outcomes. Motivational deficits are a core negative symptom and may involve alterations in reward processing, which involve subcortical regions such as the basal ganglia. More specifically, dopamine-rich regions like the ventral striatum, have been implicated in these reward-processing deficits. Inflammation is one mechanism that may underlie negative symptoms, and specifically motivational deficits, via the effects of inflammatory cytokines on the basal ganglia. Previous work has demonstrated that inflammatory stimuli decrease neural activity in the ventral striatum and decrease connectivity in reward-relevant neural circuitry. The immune system has been shown to be involved in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia, and inflammatory cytokines have been shown to be altered in patients with the disorder. This paper reviews the literature on associations between inflammatory markers and negative symptoms of schizophrenia as well as the role of anti-inflammatory drugs to target negative symptoms. We also review the literature on the role of inflammation and reward processing deficits in both healthy controls and individuals with depression. We use the literature on inflammation and depression as a basis for a model that explores potential mechanisms responsible for inflammation modulating certain aspects of negative symptoms in patients with schizophrenia. This approach may offer novel targets to treat these symptoms of the disorder that are significant barriers to functional recovery and do not respond well to available antipsychotic medications.
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Affiliation(s)
- David R Goldsmith
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, United States
| | - Mark Hyman Rapaport
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, United States
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25
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Wells R, Jacomb I, Swaminathan V, Sundram S, Weinberg D, Bruggemann J, Cropley V, Lenroot RK, Pereira AM, Zalesky A, Bousman C, Pantelis C, Weickert CS, Weickert TW. The Impact of Childhood Adversity on Cognitive Development in Schizophrenia. Schizophr Bull 2020; 46:140-153. [PMID: 31050754 PMCID: PMC6942153 DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbz033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
Childhood adversity, such as physical, sexual, and verbal abuse, as well as neglect and family conflict, is a risk factor for schizophrenia. Such adversity can lead to disruptions of cognitive function during development, undermining intellectual capabilities and academic achievement. Schizophrenia is a neurodevelopmental disorder that is associated with cognitive impairments that may become evident during childhood. The Australian Schizophrenia Research Bank database comprises a large community cohort (N = 1169) in which we previously identified 3 distinct cognitive groups among people with schizophrenia: (1) Compromised, current, and estimated premorbid cognitive impairment; (2) Deteriorated, substantial decline from estimated premorbid function; and (3) Preserved, performing in the normal cognitive range without decline. The compromised group displayed the worst functional and symptom outcomes. Here, we extend our previous work by assessing the relationship among these categories of cognitive abilities and reported childhood adversity in 836 patients and healthy controls. Exploratory factor analysis of the Childhood Adversity Questionnaire revealed 3 factors (lack of parental involvement; overt abuse; family breakdown and hardship). People with schizophrenia reported significantly more childhood adversity than healthy controls on all items and factors. People with schizophrenia in the compromised group reported significantly more lack of parental involvement and family breakdown and hardship and lower socioeconomic status than those in the deteriorated group. The cognitive groups were not related to family history of psychosis. These findings identify specific social and family factors that impact cognition, highlighting the important role of these factors in the development of cognitive and functional abilities in schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruth Wells
- School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia,Neuroscience Research Australia, Randwick, Sydney, Australia
| | - Isabella Jacomb
- School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia,Neuroscience Research Australia, Randwick, Sydney, Australia
| | - Vaidy Swaminathan
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia,Mental Health Program, Monash Medical Centre, Monash Health, Clayton, Australia,Schizophrenia Research Institute, Sydney, Australia,Molecular Psychopharmacology Laboratory, The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Parkville, Australia
| | - Suresh Sundram
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia,Mental Health Program, Monash Medical Centre, Monash Health, Clayton, Australia,Molecular Psychopharmacology Laboratory, The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Parkville, Australia,Department of Psychiatry, School of Clinical Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Australia
| | - Danielle Weinberg
- School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia,Neuroscience Research Australia, Randwick, Sydney, Australia,Present address: Clinical Research Support Office, Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA
| | - Jason Bruggemann
- School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia,Neuroscience Research Australia, Randwick, Sydney, Australia
| | - Vanessa Cropley
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
| | - Rhoshel K Lenroot
- School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia,Neuroscience Research Australia, Randwick, Sydney, Australia,Schizophrenia Research Institute, Sydney, Australia,Present address: School of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM
| | - Avril M Pereira
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia,Molecular Psychopharmacology Laboratory, The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Parkville, Australia
| | - Andrew Zalesky
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
| | - Chad Bousman
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia,Present address: Department of Medical Genetics, Psychiatry, and Physiology & Pharmacology, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| | - Christos Pantelis
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia,Schizophrenia Research Institute, Sydney, Australia
| | - Cynthia Shannon Weickert
- School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia,Neuroscience Research Australia, Randwick, Sydney, Australia,Schizophrenia Research Institute, Sydney, Australia,Present address: Department of Neuroscience and Physiology, Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, New York
| | - Thomas W Weickert
- School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia,Neuroscience Research Australia, Randwick, Sydney, Australia,Schizophrenia Research Institute, Sydney, Australia,To whom correspondence should be addressed; tel: +61-02-9399-1730, fax: +61-02-9399-1034, e-mail:
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26
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Toward integrated understanding of salience in psychosis. Neurobiol Dis 2019; 131:104414. [DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2019.03.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2018] [Revised: 02/04/2019] [Accepted: 03/04/2019] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
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27
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Abohamza E, Weickert T, Ali M, Moustafa AA. Reward and punishment learning in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Behav Brain Res 2019; 381:112298. [PMID: 31622639 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2019.112298] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2019] [Revised: 09/25/2019] [Accepted: 10/09/2019] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Prior studies on reward learning deficits in psychiatric disorders have used probabilistic learning tasks, making it unclear whether impairment is due to the probabilistic nature of the task rather than reward processing. In this study, we tested probabilistic vs. deterministic reward and punishment learning in healthy controls and three patient groups: schizophrenia (SZ), psychotic bipolar disorder (BD), and nonpsychotic BD. Experimental results show that reward learning was impaired in patients with SZ and patients with psychotic BD in the probabilistic learning task compared to patients with nonpsychotic BD and healthy controls. In contrast, punishment learning in the probabilistic task was impaired in patients with nonpsychotic BD compared to the other patient groups and healthy controls. There were no significant differences among all groups in the deterministic learning task scores. We also found that Hamilton Depression Scale scores negatively correlated with probabilistic learning performance. Our data may suggest that reward learning impairment may be due to the nature of the task as well as subtype of BD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eid Abohamza
- Department of Social Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar.
| | - Thomas Weickert
- School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Kensington, NSW, Australia; Neuroscience Research Australia, Randwick, NSW, Australia
| | - Manal Ali
- Institute of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Ahmed A Moustafa
- School of Social Sciences and Psychology & Marcs Institute for Brain and Behaviour, Western Sydney University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
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28
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Striatum-related functional activation during reward- versus punishment-based learning in psychosis risk. Neuropsychopharmacology 2019; 44:1967-1974. [PMID: 31272104 PMCID: PMC6784983 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-019-0455-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2019] [Revised: 06/24/2019] [Accepted: 06/25/2019] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Psychosis is strongly related to increased striatal dopamine. However, the neural consequences of increased striatal dopamine in psychosis risk are still not fully understood. Consistent with an increase in striatal dopamine, in previous research, psychosis risk has been associated with neural EEG evidence of a greater response to unexpected reward than unexpected punishment feedback on a reversal-learning task. However, previous research has not directly examined whether psychosis risk is associated with altered striatal activation when receiving unexpected feedback on this task. There were two groups of participants: an antipsychotic medication-naive psychosis risk group (n = 21) who had both (a) extreme levels of self-reported psychotic-like beliefs and experiences and (b) interview-rated current-attenuated psychotic symptoms; and a comparison group (n = 20) who had average levels of self-reported psychotic-like beliefs and experiences. Participants completed a reversal-leaning task during fMRI scanning. As expected, in both ROI and whole-brain analyses, the psychosis risk group exhibited greater striatal activation (for whole-brain analyses, the peak was located in the right caudate) to unexpected reward than unexpected punishment feedback relative to the comparison group. These results indicate that psychosis risk is associated with a relatively increased neural sensitivity to unexpected reward than unexpected punishment outcomes and appears consistent with increased striatal dopamine. The results may help us better understand and detect striatal dysfunction in psychosis risk.
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29
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Zhao J, Song F, Zhou S, Hu S, Liu D, Wang Y, Kong F. The impact of monetary stimuli on object-based attention. Br J Psychol 2019; 111:460-472. [PMID: 31361033 DOI: 10.1111/bjop.12418] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2018] [Revised: 06/25/2019] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Previous research has implied that monetary reward to target location (a reward for spatial properties) can affect object-based attention, but no study has directly investigated the influence of monetary objects (a reward for object properties) on object-based attention. Thus, it is unclear whether and how monetary objects can affect object-based attention. To experimentally investigate this problem, this study adapted the well-established two-rectangle paradigm. In Experiment 1, either two 100-yuan notes or two 1-yuan notes were presented to participants. We found an object-based effect with faster responses to targets at an uncued position on the cued object compared to those at an equidistant position on the uncued object; the effect was similar in 100-yuan and 1-yuan note trials. In Experiment 2, two notes (one 100-yuan and one 1-yuan) were simultaneously presented to participants, and cue location (100-yuan, 1-yuan) was manipulated. We found a greater object-based effect when the cue appeared on the 100-yuan note than on the 1-yuan note. These results suggest that the rewarding property of objects can affect object-based attention by means of altering object salience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingjing Zhao
- School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, China.,Shaanxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Behavior and Cognitive Neuroscience, Xi'an, China
| | - Fangxing Song
- School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, China.,Shaanxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Behavior and Cognitive Neuroscience, Xi'an, China
| | - Sicen Zhou
- School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, China.,Shaanxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Behavior and Cognitive Neuroscience, Xi'an, China
| | - Saisai Hu
- School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, China.,Shaanxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Behavior and Cognitive Neuroscience, Xi'an, China
| | - Dawei Liu
- School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, China.,Shaanxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Behavior and Cognitive Neuroscience, Xi'an, China
| | - Yonghui Wang
- School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, China.,Shaanxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Behavior and Cognitive Neuroscience, Xi'an, China
| | - Feng Kong
- School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, China.,Shaanxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Behavior and Cognitive Neuroscience, Xi'an, China
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30
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Acosta H, Straube B, Kircher T. Schizotypy and mentalizing: An fMRI study. Neuropsychologia 2018; 124:299-310. [PMID: 30500664 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2018.11.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2018] [Revised: 11/01/2018] [Accepted: 11/24/2018] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Schizotypy is a personality trait characterized by subclinical schizophrenia symptoms. Individuals with schizophrenia typically display behavioral mentalizing deficits and altered neural correlates during mentalizing. While schizotypy has been inconsistently related to behavioral mentalizing skills, its neural correlates of mentalizing are understudied so far. With this study we tested the association between schizotypy traits in healthy subjects and mentalizing-related neural correlates to provide new insights into neural processes associated with subclinical schizophrenia traits. METHODS Brain activation was measured using fMRI during an interactive mentalizing paradigm (Prisoner's Dilemma Game) in 164 healthy subjects. The Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ-B) was administered to assess the three dimensions of schizotypy, i.e., cognitive-perceptual, interpersonal and disorganized. RESULTS We found that interpersonal schizotypy was significantly negatively correlated with brain activation in bilateral precunei and right caudate nucleus (among others) during mentalizing. By contrast, disorganized schizotypy was significantly positively correlated with mentalizing-associated neural activation in right precuneus, left middle cingulate cortex and right cerebellar hemisphere. No significant associations for cognitive-perceptual schizotypy and the SPQ-B total score were found. DISCUSSION Our study showed that interpersonal and disorganized schizotypy are associated with neural correlates of mentalizing in brain regions that are involved in self-processing and mentalizing. These brain regions have also been linked to mentalizing in schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- H Acosta
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Philipps-University of Marburg, Germany; The FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, Turku Brain and Mind Center, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Finland.
| | - B Straube
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Philipps-University of Marburg, Germany
| | - T Kircher
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Philipps-University of Marburg, Germany
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Knolle F, Ermakova AO, Justicia A, Fletcher PC, Bunzeck N, Düzel E, Murray GK. Brain responses to different types of salience in antipsychotic naïve first episode psychosis: An fMRI study. Transl Psychiatry 2018; 8:196. [PMID: 30242202 PMCID: PMC6154975 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-018-0250-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2018] [Revised: 06/16/2018] [Accepted: 07/24/2018] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Abnormal salience processing has been suggested to contribute to the formation of positive psychotic symptoms in schizophrenia and related conditions. Previous research utilising reward learning or anticipation paradigms has demonstrated cortical and subcortical abnormalities in people with psychosis, specifically in the prefrontal cortex, the dopaminergic midbrain and the striatum. In these paradigms, reward prediction errors attribute motivational salience to stimuli. However, little is known about possible abnormalities across different forms of salience processing in psychosis patients, and whether any such abnormalities involve the dopaminergic midbrain. The aim of our study was, therefore, to investigate possible alterations in psychosis in neural activity in response to various forms of salience: novelty, negative emotion, targetness (task-driven salience) and rareness/deviance. We studied 14 antipsychotic naïve participants with first episode psychosis, and 37 healthy volunteers. During fMRI scanning, participants performed a visual oddball task containing these four forms of salience. Psychosis patients showed abnormally reduced signalling in the substantia nigra/ventral tegmental area (SN/VTA) for novelty, negative emotional salience and targetness; reduced striatal and occipital (lingual gyrus) signalling to novelty and negative emotional salience, reduced signalling in the amygdala, anterior cingulate cortex and parahippocamal gyrus to negative emotional salience, and reduced cerebellar signalling to novelty and negative emotional salience. Our results indicate alterations of several forms of salience processing in patients with psychosis in the midbrain SN/VTA, with additional subcortical and cortical regions also showing alterations in salience signalling, the exact pattern of alterations depending on the form of salience in question.
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Affiliation(s)
- Franziska Knolle
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
- Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
| | - Anna O Ermakova
- Unit for Social & Community Psychiatry, WHO Collaborating Centre for Mental Health Services Development, East London NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK
| | - Azucena Justicia
- Unit for Social & Community Psychiatry, WHO Collaborating Centre for Mental Health Services Development, East London NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK
- IMIM (Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute)., Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Paul C Fletcher
- Unit for Social & Community Psychiatry, WHO Collaborating Centre for Mental Health Services Development, East London NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK
- Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK
- Institute of Metabolic Science, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Nico Bunzeck
- Institute of Psychology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Emrah Düzel
- Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, Institute of Cognitive Neurology and Dementia Research, Magdeburg, Germany
- German Centre for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Graham K Murray
- Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Unit for Social & Community Psychiatry, WHO Collaborating Centre for Mental Health Services Development, East London NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK
- Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK
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32
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Abnormal reward prediction-error signalling in antipsychotic naive individuals with first-episode psychosis or clinical risk for psychosis. Neuropsychopharmacology 2018; 43:1691-1699. [PMID: 29748629 PMCID: PMC6006166 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-018-0056-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2017] [Revised: 03/12/2018] [Accepted: 03/13/2018] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Ongoing research suggests preliminary, though not entirely consistent, evidence of neural abnormalities in signalling prediction errors in schizophrenia. Supporting theories suggest mechanistic links between the disruption of these processes and the generation of psychotic symptoms. However, it is unknown at what stage in the pathogenesis of psychosis these impairments in prediction-error signalling develop. One major confound in prior studies is the use of medicated patients with strongly varying disease durations. Our study aims to investigate the involvement of the meso-cortico-striatal circuitry during reward prediction-error signalling in earliest stages of psychosis. We studied patients with first-episode psychosis (FEP) and help-seeking individuals at-risk for psychosis due to sub-threshold prodromal psychotic symptoms. Patients with either FEP (n = 14), or at-risk for developing psychosis (n = 30), and healthy volunteers (n = 39) performed a reinforcement learning task during fMRI scanning. ANOVA revealed significant (p < 0.05 family-wise error corrected) prediction-error signalling differences between groups in the dopaminergic midbrain and right middle frontal gyrus (dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, DLPFC). FEP patients showed disrupted reward prediction-error signalling compared to controls in both regions. At-risk patients showed intermediate activation in the midbrain that significantly differed from controls and from FEP patients, but DLPFC activation that did not differ from controls. Our study confirms that FEP patients have abnormal meso-cortical signalling of reward-prediction errors, whereas reward-prediction-error dysfunction in the at-risk patients appears to show a more nuanced pattern of activation with a degree of midbrain impairment but preserved cortical function.
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Lambert C, Da Silva S, Ceniti AK, Rizvi SJ, Foussias G, Kennedy SH. Anhedonia in depression and schizophrenia: A transdiagnostic challenge. CNS Neurosci Ther 2018; 24:615-623. [PMID: 29687627 DOI: 10.1111/cns.12854] [Citation(s) in RCA: 86] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2018] [Revised: 03/10/2018] [Accepted: 03/12/2018] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Anhedonia, as a dysregulation of the reward circuit, is present in both Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and schizophrenia (SZ). AIMS To elucidate the clinical and neurobiological differences between schizophrenia (SZ) and depression (MDD) in regard to anhedonia, while reconciling the challenges and benefits of assessing anhedonia as a transdiagnostic feature under the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) framework. METHODS In this review, we summarize data from publications examining anhedonia or its underlying reward deficits in SZ and MDD. A literature search was conducted in OVID Medline, PsycINFO and EMBASE databases between 2000 and 2017. RESULTS While certain subgroups share commonalities, there are also important differences. SZ may be characterized by a disorganization, rather than a deficiency, in reward processing and cognitive function, including inappropriate energy expenditure and focus on irrelevant cues. In contrast, MDD has been characterized by deficits in anticipatory pleasure, development of reward associations, and integration of information from past experience. Understanding the roles of neurotransmitters and aberrant brain circuitry is necessary to appreciate differences in reward function in SZ and MDD. CONCLUSION Anhedonia as a clinical presentation of reward circuit dysregulation is an important and relatively undertreated symptom of both SZ and MDD. In order to improve patient outcomes and quality of life, it is important to consider how anhedonia fits into both diagnoses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clare Lambert
- Arthur Sommer Rotenberg Suicide and Depression Studies Program, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, School of Medicine, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Susana Da Silva
- Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Amanda K Ceniti
- Arthur Sommer Rotenberg Suicide and Depression Studies Program, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Sakina J Rizvi
- Arthur Sommer Rotenberg Suicide and Depression Studies Program, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Mental Health and Addiction Service, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - George Foussias
- Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Sidney H Kennedy
- Arthur Sommer Rotenberg Suicide and Depression Studies Program, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Mental Health and Addiction Service, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
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Chase HW, Loriemi P, Wensing T, Eickhoff SB, Nickl-Jockschat T. Meta-analytic evidence for altered mesolimbic responses to reward in schizophrenia. Hum Brain Mapp 2018; 39:2917-2928. [PMID: 29573046 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.24049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2017] [Revised: 01/25/2018] [Accepted: 03/08/2018] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Dysfunction of reward-related neural circuitry in schizophrenia (SCZ) has been widely reported, and may provide insight into the motivational and cognitive disturbances that characterize the disorder. Although previous meta-analyses of reward learning paradigms in SCZ have been performed, a meta-analysis of whole-brain coordinate maps in SCZ alone has not been conducted. In this study, we performed an activation likelihood estimate (ALE) meta-analysis, and performed a follow-up analysis of functional connectivity and functional decoding of identified regions. We report several salient findings that extend prior work in this area. First, an alteration in reward-related activation was observed in the right ventral striatum, but this was not solely driven by hypoactivation in the SCZ group compared to healthy controls. Second, the region was characterized by functional connectivity primarily with the lateral prefrontal cortex and pre-supplementary motor area (preSMA), as well as subcortical regions such as the thalamus which show structural deficits in SCZ. Finally, although the meta-analysis showed no regions outside the ventral striatum to be significantly altered, regions with higher functional connectivity with the ventral striatum showed a greater number of subthreshold foci. Together, these findings confirm the alteration of ventral striatal function in SCZ, but suggest that a network-based approach may assist future analysis of the functional underpinnings of the disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Henry W Chase
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Polina Loriemi
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.,Juelich Aachen Research Alliance - Translational Brain Medicine, Aachen, Germany
| | - Tobias Wensing
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.,Juelich Aachen Research Alliance - Translational Brain Medicine, Aachen, Germany
| | - Simon B Eickhoff
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine, Brain and Behaviour (INM-7), Research Center Jülich, Jülich, Germany.,Institute for Systems Neuroscience, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Thomas Nickl-Jockschat
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.,Juelich Aachen Research Alliance - Translational Brain Medicine, Aachen, Germany.,Iowa Neuroscience Institute, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA.,Department of Psychiatry, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
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Owens SJ, Murphy CE, Purves-Tyson TD, Weickert TW, Shannon Weickert C. Considering the role of adolescent sex steroids in schizophrenia. J Neuroendocrinol 2018; 30. [PMID: 28941299 DOI: 10.1111/jne.12538] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2017] [Revised: 09/06/2017] [Accepted: 09/20/2017] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Schizophrenia is a disabling illness that is typically first diagnosed during late adolescence to early adulthood. It has an unremitting course and is often treatment-resistant. Many clinical aspects of the illness suggest that sex steroid-nervous system interactions may contribute to the onset, course of symptoms and the cognitive impairment displayed by men and women with schizophrenia. Here, we discuss the actions of oestrogen and testosterone on the brain during adolescent development and in schizophrenia from the perspective of experimental studies in animals, human post-mortem studies, magnetic resonance imaging studies in living humans and clinical trials of sex steroid-based treatments. We present evidence of potential beneficial, as well as detrimental, effects of both testosterone and oestrogen. We provide a rationale for the necessity to further elucidate sex steroid mechanisms of action at different ages, sexes and brain regions to more fully understand the role of testosterone and oestrogen in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. The weight of the evidence suggests that sex steroid hormones influence mammalian brain function, including both cognition and emotion, and that pharmaceutical agents aimed at sex steroid receptors appear to provide a novel treatment avenue to reduce symptoms and improve cognition in men and women with schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- S J Owens
- Schizophrenia Research Laboratory, Neuroscience Research Australia, Randwick, NSW, Australia
- Faculty of Medicine, School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - C E Murphy
- Schizophrenia Research Laboratory, Neuroscience Research Australia, Randwick, NSW, Australia
- Faculty of Medicine, School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - T D Purves-Tyson
- Schizophrenia Research Laboratory, Neuroscience Research Australia, Randwick, NSW, Australia
- Faculty of Medicine, School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - T W Weickert
- Schizophrenia Research Laboratory, Neuroscience Research Australia, Randwick, NSW, Australia
- Faculty of Medicine, School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - C Shannon Weickert
- Schizophrenia Research Laboratory, Neuroscience Research Australia, Randwick, NSW, Australia
- Faculty of Medicine, School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
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36
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Moustafa AA, Garami JK, Mahlberg J, Golembieski J, Keri S, Misiak B, Frydecka D. Cognitive function in schizophrenia: conflicting findings and future directions. Rev Neurosci 2018; 27:435-48. [PMID: 26756090 DOI: 10.1515/revneuro-2015-0060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2015] [Accepted: 11/16/2015] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Schizophrenia is a severe mental disorder with multiple psychopathological domains being affected. Several lines of evidence indicate that cognitive impairment serves as the key component of schizophrenia psychopathology. Although there have been a multitude of cognitive studies in schizophrenia, there are many conflicting results. We reasoned that this could be due to individual differences among the patients (i.e. variation in the severity of positive vs. negative symptoms), different task designs, and/or the administration of different antipsychotics. METHODS We thus review existing data concentrating on these dimensions, specifically in relation to dopamine function. We focus on most commonly used cognitive domains: learning, working memory, and attention. RESULTS We found that the type of cognitive domain under investigation, medication state and type, and severity of positive and negative symptoms can explain the conflicting results in the literature. CONCLUSIONS This review points to future studies investigating individual differences among schizophrenia patients in order to reveal the exact relationship between cognitive function, clinical features, and antipsychotic treatment.
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37
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Nielsen MØ, Rostrup E, Broberg BV, Wulff S, Glenthøj B. Negative Symptoms and Reward Disturbances in Schizophrenia Before and After Antipsychotic Monotherapy. Clin EEG Neurosci 2018; 49:36-45. [PMID: 29145751 DOI: 10.1177/1550059417744120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Negative symptoms (NS) are a central part of the symptomatology of schizophrenia, which is highly correlated to the functional outcome. Disturbances of the brain reward system are suggested to be central in the pathogenesis of NS by decreasing motivation and hedonic experiences. In this study, we compared reward-related brain activity in patients improving and not improving in NS after treatment with amisulpride. METHODS Thirty-nine antipsychotic-naive patients and 49 healthy controls completed functional magnetic resonance imaging with a modified monetary incentive delay task. Psychopathology of the patients was characterised with Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), and they were treated with individual doses of amisulpride (mean 271 mg) for 6 weeks, after which the examinations were repeated. RESULTS Patients improved on positive, general, and total PANSS score after treatment ( P < .001). Fourteen patients had ≥20% improvement of NS, whereas 25 patients improved <20%. At baseline, one-way analysis of variance showed group difference bilaterally in the caudate nucleus and in the right nucleus accumbens (all P < .002), which was caused by decreased reward anticipation activity in the nonimproving patients compared to healthy controls. There was a significant group × time interaction, with the healthy controls and the improvers decreasing and the nonimprovers increasing in reward anticipation activity after treatment, most pronounced in the left caudate nucleus ( P = .001). DISCUSSION Patients improving in NS score had a less aberrant reward system at baseline, but reward related activity was reduced over time. Patients not improving in NS showed decreased striatal reward-activity at baseline, which improved over time. Whether this is associated with alteration in working memory and reward learning or with pronounced symptoms within specific domains of NS may be addressed in future studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mette Ødegaard Nielsen
- 1 Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CNSR) & Centre for Clinical Intervention and Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CINS), Copenhagen University Hospital, Mental Health Centre Glostrup, Denmark
| | - Egill Rostrup
- 1 Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CNSR) & Centre for Clinical Intervention and Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CINS), Copenhagen University Hospital, Mental Health Centre Glostrup, Denmark.,2 Functional Imaging Unit, Department of Clinical Physiology and Nuclear Medicine Rigshospitalet, Glostrup, Denmark
| | - Brian Villumsen Broberg
- 1 Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CNSR) & Centre for Clinical Intervention and Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CINS), Copenhagen University Hospital, Mental Health Centre Glostrup, Denmark
| | - Sanne Wulff
- 1 Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CNSR) & Centre for Clinical Intervention and Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CINS), Copenhagen University Hospital, Mental Health Centre Glostrup, Denmark
| | - Birte Glenthøj
- 1 Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CNSR) & Centre for Clinical Intervention and Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CINS), Copenhagen University Hospital, Mental Health Centre Glostrup, Denmark
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38
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Martinelli C, Rigoli F, Dolan RJ, Shergill SS. Decreased value-sensitivity in schizophrenia. Psychiatry Res 2018; 259:295-301. [PMID: 29096335 DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2017.10.031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2017] [Revised: 09/22/2017] [Accepted: 10/21/2017] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Pathophysiology in schizophrenia has been linked to aberrant incentive salience, namely the dysfunctional processing of value linked to abnormal dopaminergic activity. In line with this, recent studies showed impaired learning of value in schizophrenia. However, how value is used to guide behaviour independently from learning, as in risky choice, has rarely been examined in this disorder. We studied value-guided choice under risk in patients with schizophrenia and in controls using a task requiring a choice between a certain monetary reward, varying trial-by-trial, and a gamble offering an equal probability of getting double this certain amount or nothing. We observed that patients compared to controls exhibited reduced sensitivity to values, implying that their choices failed to flexibly adapt to the specific values on offer. Moreover, the degree of this value sensitivity inversely correlated with aberrant salience experience, suggesting that the inability to tune choice to value may be a key element of aberrant salience in the illness. Our results help clarify the cognitive mechanisms underlying improper attribution of value in schizophrenia and may thus inform cognitive interventions aimed at reinstating value sensitivity in patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cristina Martinelli
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, 16 De Crespigny Park, SE5 8AF London, United Kingdom.
| | - Francesco Rigoli
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London, 12 Queen's Square, WC1N 3BG London, United Kingdom
| | - Ray J Dolan
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London, 12 Queen's Square, WC1N 3BG London, United Kingdom; Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, University College London, WC1B 5EH London, United Kingdom
| | - Sukhwinder S Shergill
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, 16 De Crespigny Park, SE5 8AF London, United Kingdom
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Kirschner M, Hager OM, Muff L, Bischof M, Hartmann-Riemer MN, Kluge A, Habermeyer B, Seifritz E, Tobler PN, Kaiser S. Ventral Striatal Dysfunction and Symptom Expression in Individuals With Schizotypal Personality Traits and Early Psychosis. Schizophr Bull 2018; 44:147-157. [PMID: 27798223 PMCID: PMC5767950 DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbw142] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Striatal abnormalities play a crucial role in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. Growing evidence suggests an association between aberrant striatal activity during reward anticipation and symptom dimensions in schizophrenia. However, it is not clear whether this holds across the psychosis continuum. The aim of the present study was to investigate alterations of ventral striatal activation during reward anticipation and its relationship to symptom expression in persons with schizotypal personality traits (SPT) and first-episode psychosis. Twenty-six individuals with high SPT, 26 patients with non-affective first-episode psychosis (including 13 with brief psychotic disorder (FEP-BPD) and 13 with first-episode schizophrenia [FEP-SZ]) and 25 healthy controls underwent event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging while performing a variant of the Monetary Incentive Delay task. Ventral striatal activation was positively correlated with total symptom severity, in particular with levels of positive symptoms. This association was observed across the psychosis continuum and within each subgroup. Patients with FEP-SZ showed the strongest elevation of striatal activation during reward anticipation, although symptom levels did not differ between groups in the psychosis continuum. While our results provide evidence that variance in striatal activation is mainly explained by dimensional symptom expression, patients with schizophrenia show an additional dysregulation of striatal activation. Trans-diagnostic approaches are promising in order to disentangle dimensional and categorical neural mechanisms in the psychosis continuum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthias Kirschner
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric Hospital, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland,To whom correspondence should be addressed; Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric Hospital, University of Zurich, Lenggstrasse 31, 8032 Zurich, Switzerland; tel: +41-44-384-36-14, fax: +41-44-383-44-56, e-mail:
| | - Oliver M Hager
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric Hospital, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland,Laboratory for Social and Neural Systems Research, Department of Economics, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Larissa Muff
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric Hospital, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Martin Bischof
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric Hospital, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Matthias N Hartmann-Riemer
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric Hospital, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland,Laboratory for Social and Neural Systems Research, Department of Economics, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Agne Kluge
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric Hospital, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Benedikt Habermeyer
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric Hospital, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Erich Seifritz
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric Hospital, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Philippe N Tobler
- Laboratory for Social and Neural Systems Research, Department of Economics, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Stefan Kaiser
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric Hospital, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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40
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Lin P, Wang X, Zhang B, Kirkpatrick B, Öngür D, Levitt JJ, Jovicich J, Yao S, Wang X. Functional dysconnectivity of the limbic loop of frontostriatal circuits in first-episode, treatment-naive schizophrenia. Hum Brain Mapp 2017; 39:747-757. [PMID: 29094787 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.23879] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2017] [Revised: 10/02/2017] [Accepted: 10/23/2017] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Frontostriatal circuits dysfunction has been implicated in the etiology and psychopathology of patients with schizophrenia (SZ). However, few studies have investigated SZ-related functional connectivity (FC) alterations in discrete frontostriatal circuits and their relationship with pathopsychology in first-episode schizophrenia (FESZ). The goal of this study was to identify dysfunctions in discrete frontostriatal circuits that are associated with key features of FESZ. To this end, a case-control, cross-sectional study was conducted, wherein resting-state (RS) functional magnetic resonance (fMRI) data were collected from 37 treatment-naïve FESZ patients and 29 healthy control (HC) subjects. Seed-based FC analyses were performed by placing six bilateral pairs of seeds within a priori defined subdivisions of the striatum. We observed significantly decreased FC for the FESZ group relative to the HC group [p < .05, family-wise error (FWE)-corrected] in the limbic loop, but not in the sensorimotor or associative loops, of frontostriatal circuitry. Moreover, bilaterally decreased inferior ventral striatum/nucleus accumbens (VSi)-dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) FC within the limbic loop correlated inversely with overall FESZ symptom severity and the disorganization factor score of PANSS. These findings provide new insight into the role of frontostriatal limbic loop hypoconnectivity in early-stage schizophrenia pathology and suggest potential novel therapeutic targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pan Lin
- Key Laboratory of Cognitive Science, College of Biomedical Engineering, South-Central University for Nationalities, Wuhan, 430074, China
| | - Xiaosheng Wang
- Department of Human Anatomy and Neurobiology, Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, 410013, China
| | - Bei Zhang
- Medical Psychological Center, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, 410011, China.,Department of Psychology, Experimental Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, 80802, Munich, Germany
| | - Brian Kirkpatrick
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, University of Nevada School of Medicine, Reno, Nevada, 89509
| | - Dost Öngür
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School and McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts, 02478
| | - James J Levitt
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School and VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts, 02215
| | - Jorge Jovicich
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, Mattarello, 38100, Italy
| | - Shuqiao Yao
- Medical Psychological Center, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, 410011, China
| | - Xiang Wang
- Medical Psychological Center, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, 410011, China
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Zhang B, Lin P, Shi H, Öngür D, Auerbach RP, Wang X, Yao S, Wang X. Mapping anhedonia-specific dysfunction in a transdiagnostic approach: an ALE meta-analysis. Brain Imaging Behav 2017; 10:920-39. [PMID: 26487590 PMCID: PMC4838562 DOI: 10.1007/s11682-015-9457-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 101] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Anhedonia is a prominent symptom in neuropsychiatric disorders, most markedly in major depressive disorder (MDD) and schizophrenia (SZ). Emerging evidence indicates an overlap in the neural substrates of anhedonia between MDD and SZ, which supported a transdiagnostic approach. Therefore, we used activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analysis of functional magnetic resonance imaging studies in MDD and SZ to examine the neural bases of three subdomains of anhedonia: consummatory anhedonia, anticipatory anhedonia and emotional processing. ALE analysis focused specifically on MDD or SZ was used later to dissociate specific anhedonia-related neurobiological impairments from potential disease general impairments. ALE results revealed that consummatory anhedonia was associated with decreased activation in ventral basal ganglia areas, while anticipatory anhedonia was associated with more substrates in frontal-striatal networks except the ventral striatum, which included the dorsal anterior cingulate, middle frontal gyrus and medial frontal gyrus. MDD and SZ patients showed similar neurobiological impairments in anticipatory and consummatory anhedonia, but differences in the emotional experience task, which may also involve affective/mood general processing. These results support that anhedonia is characterized by alterations in reward processing and relies on frontal-striatal brain circuitry. The transdiagnostic approach is a promising way to reveal the overall neurobiological framework that contributes to anhedonia and could help to improve targeted treatment strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bei Zhang
- Medical Psychological Institute, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, 139 Renmin (M) Road, Changsha, Hunan, 410011, People's Republic of China
| | - Pan Lin
- Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Engineering of Education Ministry, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shanxi, 710049, People's Republic of China
| | - Huqing Shi
- Department of Psychology, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, 200234, People's Republic of China
| | - Dost Öngür
- Harvard Medical School and McLean Hospital, 115 Mill Street, Belmont, MA, 02478, USA
| | - Randy P Auerbach
- Harvard Medical School and McLean Hospital, 115 Mill Street, Belmont, MA, 02478, USA
| | - Xiaosheng Wang
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Changsha, 410013, People's Republic of China
| | - Shuqiao Yao
- Medical Psychological Institute, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, 139 Renmin (M) Road, Changsha, Hunan, 410011, People's Republic of China
| | - Xiang Wang
- Medical Psychological Institute, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, 139 Renmin (M) Road, Changsha, Hunan, 410011, People's Republic of China.
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Watt MJ, Weber MA, Davies SR, Forster GL. Impact of juvenile chronic stress on adult cortico-accumbal function: Implications for cognition and addiction. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2017; 79. [PMID: 28642080 PMCID: PMC5610933 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2017.06.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Repeated exposure to stress during childhood is associated with increased risk for neuropsychiatric illness, substance use disorders and other behavioral problems in adulthood. However, it is not clear how chronic childhood stress can lead to emergence of such a wide range of symptoms and disorders in later life. One possible explanation lies in stress-induced disruption to the development of specific brain regions associated with executive function and reward processing, deficits in which are common to the disorders promoted by childhood stress. Evidence of aberrations in prefrontal cortex and nucleus accumbens function following repeated exposure of juvenile (pre- and adolescent) organisms to a variety of different stressors would account not only for the similarity in symptoms across the wide range of childhood stress-associated mental illnesses, but also their persistence into adulthood in the absence of further stress. Therefore, the goal of this review is to evaluate the current knowledge regarding disruption to executive function and reward processing in adult animals or humans exposed to chronic stress over the juvenile period, and the underlying neurobiology, with particular emphasis on the prefrontal cortex and nucleus accumbens. First, the role of these brain regions in mediating executive function and reward processing is highlighted. Second, the neurobehavioral development of these systems is discussed to illustrate how juvenile stress may exert long-lasting effects on prefrontal cortex-accumbal activity and related behavioral functions. Finally, a critical review of current animal and human findings is presented, which strongly supports the supposition that exposure to chronic stress (particularly social aggression and isolation in animal studies) in the juvenile period produces impairments in executive function in adulthood, especially in working memory and inhibitory control. Chronic juvenile stress also results in aberrations to reward processing and seeking, with increased sensitivity to drugs of abuse particularly noted in animal models, which is in line with greater incidence of substance use disorders seen in clinical studies. These consequences are potentially mediated by monoamine and glutamatergic dysfunction in the prefrontal cortex and nucleus accumbens, providing translatable therapeutic targets. However, the predominant use of male subjects and social-based stressors in preclinical studies points to a clear need for determining how both sex differences and stressor heterogeneity may differentially contribute to stress-induced changes to substrates mediating executive function and reward processing, before the impact of chronic juvenile stress in promoting adult psychopathology can be fully understood.
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Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex Damage Is Associated with Decreased Ventral Striatum Volume and Response to Reward. J Neurosci 2017; 36:5047-54. [PMID: 27147657 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.4236-15.2016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2015] [Accepted: 03/14/2016] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
UNLABELLED The ventral striatum and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) are two central nodes of the "reward circuit" of the brain. Human neuroimaging studies have demonstrated coincident activation and functional connectivity between these brain regions, and animal studies have demonstrated that the vmPFC modulates ventral striatum activity. However, there have been no comparable data in humans to address whether the vmPFC may be critical for the reward-related response properties of the ventral striatum. In this study, we used fMRI in five neurosurgical patients with focal vmPFC lesions to test the hypothesis that the vmPFC is necessary for enhancing ventral striatum responses to the anticipation of reward. In support of this hypothesis, we found that, compared with age- and gender-matched neurologically healthy subjects, the vmPFC-lesioned patients had reduced ventral striatal activity during the anticipation of reward. Furthermore, we observed that the vmPFC-lesioned patients had decreased volumes of the accumbens subregion of the ventral striatum. Together, these functional and structural neuroimaging data provide novel evidence for a critical role for the vmPFC in contributing to reward-related activity of the ventral striatum. These results offer new insight into the functional and structural interactions between key components of the brain circuitry underlying human affective function and decision-making. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Maladaptive decision-making is a common problem across multiple mental health disorders. Developing new pathophysiologically based strategies for diagnosis and treatment thus requires a better understanding of the brain circuits responsible for adaptive decision-making and related psychological subprocesses (e.g., reward valuation, anticipation, and motivation). Animal studies provide evidence that these functions are mediated through direct interactions between two key nodes of a posited "reward circuit," the ventral striatum and the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC). For the first time in humans, we demonstrate that damage to the vmPFC results in decreased ventral striatum activity during reward anticipation. These data provide unique evidence on the causal mechanisms by which the vmPFC and ventral striatum interact during the anticipation of rewards.
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Waltz JA, Xu Z, Brown EC, Ruiz RR, Frank MJ, Gold JM. Motivational Deficits in Schizophrenia Are Associated With Reduced Differentiation Between Gain and Loss-Avoidance Feedback in the Striatum. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY: COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE AND NEUROIMAGING 2017; 3:239-247. [PMID: 29486865 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2017.07.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2017] [Revised: 07/20/2017] [Accepted: 07/23/2017] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The current study was designed to test the hypothesis that motivational deficits in schizophrenia (SZ) are tied to a reduced ability to differentially signal gains and instances of loss-avoidance in the brain, leading to reduced ability to form adaptive representations of expected value. METHODS We administered a reinforcement learning paradigm to 27 medicated SZ patients and 27 control subjects in which participants learned three probabilistic discriminations. In regions of interest in reward networks identified a priori, we examined contrasts between trial types with different expected values (e.g., expected gain-nonmonetary) and between outcomes with the same prediction error valence but different experienced values (e.g., gain-loss-avoidance outcome, miss-loss outcome). RESULTS Both whole-brain and region of interest analyses revealed that SZ patients showed reduced differentiation between gain and loss-avoidance outcomes in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and bilateral anterior insula. That is, SZ patients showed reduced contrasts between positive prediction errors of different objective values in these areas. In addition, we observed significant correlations between gain-loss-avoidance outcome contrasts in the ventral striatum and ratings for avolition/anhedonia and between expected gain-nonmonetary contrasts in the ventral striatum and ventromedial prefrontal cortex. CONCLUSIONS These results provide further evidence for intact prediction error signaling in medicated SZ patients, especially with regard to loss-avoidance. By contrast, components of frontostriatal circuits appear to show reduced sensitivity to the absolute valence of expected and experienced outcomes, suggesting a mechanism by which motivational deficits may emerge.
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Affiliation(s)
- James A Waltz
- Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland.
| | - Ziye Xu
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
| | - Elliot C Brown
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| | - Rebecca R Ruiz
- Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Michael J Frank
- Department of Psychiatry and Brown Institute for Brain Science, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island
| | - James M Gold
- Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
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D'Astolfo L, Rief W. Learning about Expectation Violation from Prediction Error Paradigms - A Meta-Analysis on Brain Processes Following a Prediction Error. Front Psychol 2017; 8:1253. [PMID: 28804467 PMCID: PMC5532445 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01253] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2016] [Accepted: 07/10/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Modifying patients' expectations by exposing them to expectation violation situations (thus maximizing the difference between the expected and the actual situational outcome) is proposed to be a crucial mechanism for therapeutic success for a variety of different mental disorders. However, clinical observations suggest that patients often maintain their expectations regardless of experiences contradicting their expectations. It remains unclear which information processing mechanisms lead to modification or persistence of patients' expectations. Insight in the processing could be provided by Neuroimaging studies investigating prediction error (PE, i.e., neuronal reactions to non-expected stimuli). Two methods are often used to investigate the PE: (1) paradigms, in which participants passively observe PEs ("passive" paradigms) and (2) paradigms, which encourage a behavioral adaptation following a PE ("active" paradigms). These paradigms are similar to the methods used to induce expectation violations in clinical settings: (1) the confrontation with an expectation violation situation and (2) an enhanced confrontation in which the patient actively challenges his expectation. We used this similarity to gain insight in the different neuronal processing of the two PE paradigms. We performed a meta-analysis contrasting neuronal activity of PE paradigms encouraging a behavioral adaptation following a PE and paradigms enforcing passiveness following a PE. We found more neuronal activity in the striatum, the insula and the fusiform gyrus in studies encouraging behavioral adaptation following a PE. Due to the involvement of reward assessment and avoidance learning associated with the striatum and the insula we propose that the deliberate execution of action alternatives following a PE is associated with the integration of new information into previously existing expectations, therefore leading to an expectation change. While further research is needed to directly assess expectations of participants, this study provides new insights into the information processing mechanisms following an expectation violation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa D'Astolfo
- Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Philipps University of MarburgMarburg, Germany
| | - Winfried Rief
- Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Philipps University of MarburgMarburg, Germany
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Nusslock R, Alloy LB. Reward processing and mood-related symptoms: An RDoC and translational neuroscience perspective. J Affect Disord 2017; 216:3-16. [PMID: 28237133 PMCID: PMC6661152 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2017.02.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 187] [Impact Index Per Article: 26.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2016] [Accepted: 02/03/2017] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Two objectives of the NIMH Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) initiative are to identify (a) mechanisms that are common to multiple psychiatric disorders, and (b) mechanisms that are unique to specific psychiatric symptoms, and that reflect markers of differential risk for these symptoms. With respect to these objectives, a brain-behavior dimension that has received considerable attention and that is directly relevant to the Positive Valence Systems domain of the RDoC initiative involves reward processing. METHODS The present review paper first examines the relationship between reward processing and mood-related symptoms from an RDoC perspective. We then place this work in a larger context by examining the relationship between reward processing abnormalities and psychiatric symptoms defined broadly, including mood-related symptoms, schizophrenia, and addiction. RESULTS Our review suggests that reward hyposensitivity relates to a subtype of anhedonia characterized by motivational deficits in unipolar depression, and reward hypersensitivity relates to a cluster of hypo/manic symptoms characterized by excessive approach motivation in the context of bipolar disorder. Integrating this perspective with research on reward processing abnormalities in schizophrenia and addiction, we further argue that the principles of equifinality and multifinality may be preferable to a transdiagnostic perspective for conceptualizing the relationship between reward processing and psychiatric symptoms defined broadly. CONCLUSION We propose that vulnerability to either motivational anhedonia or approach-related hypo/manic symptoms involve extreme and opposite profiles of reward processing. We further propose that an equifinality and multifinality perspective may serve as a useful framework for future research on reward processing abnormalities and psychiatric symptoms.
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Abstract
In the DSM5, negative symptoms are 1 of the 5 core dimensions of psychopathology evaluated for schizophrenia. However, negative symptoms are not pathognomonic-they are also part of the diagnostic criteria for other schizophrenia-spectrum disorders, disorders that sometimes have comorbid psychosis, diagnoses not in the schizophrenia-spectrum, and the general "nonclinical" population. Although etiological models of negative symptoms have been developed for chronic schizophrenia, there has been little attention given to whether these models have transdiagnostic applicability. In the current review, we examine areas of commonality and divergence in the clinical presentation and etiology of negative symptoms across diagnostic categories. It was concluded that negative symptoms are relatively frequent across diagnostic categories, but individual disorders may differ in whether their negative symptoms are persistent/transient or primary/secondary. Evidence for separate dimensions of volitional and expressive symptoms exists, and there may be multiple mechanistic pathways to the same symptom phenomenon among DSM-5 disorders within and outside the schizophrenia-spectrum (ie, equifinality). Evidence for a novel transdiagnostic etiological model is presented based on the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) constructs, which proposes the existence of 2 such pathways-a hedonic pathway and a cognitive pathway-that can both lead to expressive or volitional symptoms. To facilitate treatment breakthroughs, future transdiagnostic studies on negative symptoms are warranted that explore mechanisms underlying volitional and expressive pathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gregory P Strauss
- Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, 125 Baldwin Street, Athens, GA 30602
| | - Alex S Cohen
- Department of Psychology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA
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Unexpected global impact of VTA dopamine neuron activation as measured by opto-fMRI. Mol Psychiatry 2017; 22:585-594. [PMID: 27457809 PMCID: PMC5269559 DOI: 10.1038/mp.2016.102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2015] [Revised: 04/27/2016] [Accepted: 05/02/2016] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Dopamine neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) are strongly implicated in cognitive and affective processing as well as in psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia, depression, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and substance abuse disorders. In human studies, dopamine-related functions are routinely assessed using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) measures of blood oxygenation-level-dependent (BOLD) signals during the performance of dopamine-dependent tasks. There is, however, a critical void in our knowledge about whether and how activation of VTA dopamine neurons specifically influences regional or global fMRI signals. Here, we used optogenetics in Th::Cre rats to selectively stimulate VTA dopamine neurons while simultaneously measuring global hemodynamic changes using BOLD and cerebral blood volume-weighted (CBVw) fMRI. Phasic activation of VTA dopamine neurons increased BOLD and CBVw fMRI signals in VTA-innervated limbic regions, including the ventral striatum (nucleus accumbens). Surprisingly, basal ganglia regions that receive sparse or no VTA dopaminergic innervation, including the dorsal striatum and the globus pallidus, were also activated. In fact, the most prominent fMRI signal increase in the forebrain was observed in the dorsal striatum that is not traditionally associated with VTA dopamine neurotransmission. These data establish causation between phasic activation of VTA dopamine neurons and global fMRI signals. They further suggest that mesolimbic and non-limbic basal ganglia dopamine circuits are functionally connected and thus provide a potential novel framework for understanding dopamine-dependent functions and interpreting data obtained from human fMRI studies.
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Nicotine increases anterior insula activation to expected and unexpected outcomes among nonsmokers. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2017; 234:1145-1154. [PMID: 28190083 PMCID: PMC5986178 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-017-4550-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2016] [Accepted: 01/26/2017] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE Tobacco has a higher rate of dependence than other drugs of abuse. However, the psychopharmacological effects of nicotine are incongruent with the tenacity of tobacco addiction since nicotine does not produce robust euphoria in humans or self-administration in rodents. A potential explanation is that nicotine amplifies the salience of other stimuli that have some incentive value, which could influence the initiation and persistence of smoking. However, the neural mechanisms of this process are unknown. OBJECTIVES One way that nicotine may amplify the salience of other stimuli is by enhancing reward prediction errors. We hypothesized that nicotine would enhance the neural response to unexpected (relative to expected) rewards compared to placebo. METHODS Twenty-three nonsmokers underwent two fMRI scans, following nicotine (1 mg) or placebo administration, while performing an outcome expectation task. In the task, a pair of cues was associated with either a subsequent reward (the image of a $100 bill) or a nonreward (the image of a blurry rectangle). On 20% of trials, the cue was followed by an unexpected outcome. RESULTS Although nicotine did not affect the magnitude of prediction errors relative to placebo, nicotine did increase BOLD activation in the anterior insula/inferior frontal gyrus and decrease activation in the caudate across all outcome types (including both rewards and nonrewards). CONCLUSIONS The insula and caudate could play a role in the initial effects of nicotine in nonsmokers, and these changes in baseline may be the mechanism that underlies how nicotine amplifies the salience of nondrug stimuli.
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Bernard JA, Russell CE, Newberry RE, Goen JR, Mittal VA. Patients with schizophrenia show aberrant patterns of basal ganglia activation: Evidence from ALE meta-analysis. Neuroimage Clin 2017; 14:450-463. [PMID: 28275545 PMCID: PMC5328905 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2017.01.034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2016] [Revised: 12/23/2016] [Accepted: 01/31/2017] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
The diverse circuits and functional contributions of the basal ganglia, coupled with known differences in dopaminergic function in patients with schizophrenia, suggest they may be an important contributor to the etiology of the hallmark symptoms and cognitive dysfunction experienced by these patients. Using activation-likelihood-estimation meta-analysis of functional imaging research, we investigated differences in activation patterns in the basal ganglia in patients with schizophrenia, relative to healthy controls across task domains. This analysis included 42 functional neuroimaging studies, representing a variety of behavioral domains that have been linked to basal ganglia function in prior work. We provide important new information about the functional activation patterns and functional topography of the basal ganglia for different task domains in healthy controls. Crucially however, we demonstrate that across task domains, patients with schizophrenia show markedly decreased activation in the basal ganglia relative to healthy controls. Our results provide further support for basal ganglia dysfunction in patients with schizophrenia, and the broad dysfunction across task domains may contribute to the symptoms and cognitive deficits associated with schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica A. Bernard
- Department of Psychology, Texas A&M University, United States
- Texas A&M Institute for Neuroscience, Texas A&M University, United States
| | - Courtney E. Russell
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, United States
| | - Raeana E. Newberry
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, United States
| | - James R.M. Goen
- Department of Psychology, Texas A&M University, United States
| | - Vijay A. Mittal
- Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, United States
- Department of Psychiatry, Northwestern University, United States
- Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University, United States
- Department of Medical Social Sciences, Northwestern University, United States
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