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Dong X, Shovestul B, Saxena A, Dudek E, Reda S, Lamberti JS, Dodell-Feder D. Decision-making under risk and its correlates in schizophrenia. Schizophr Res Cogn 2024; 37:100314. [PMID: 38764743 PMCID: PMC11101893 DOI: 10.1016/j.scog.2024.100314] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2023] [Revised: 04/26/2024] [Accepted: 04/30/2024] [Indexed: 05/21/2024]
Abstract
Schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD) are associated with pervasive cognitive impairments, including deficits in decision-making under risk. However, there is inconclusive evidence regarding specific mechanisms underlying altered decision-making patterns. In this study, participants (33 SSD and 28 non-SSD) completed the Columbia Card Task, an explicit risk-taking task, to better understand risk preference and adjustment in dynamic decision-making. We found that while there is no group difference in overall risk-taking, risk preference, or optimal decision-making, risk adjustment to contextual factors (e.g., loss probability) is blunted in SSD. We also found associations between risk-taking/suboptimal decision-making and disorganized symptoms, excited symptoms, and role functioning, but no associations between decision-making and working memory. These results suggest that during a complex, dynamic risk-taking task, individuals with SSD exhibit less adaption to changing information about risk, which may reflect risk imperception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoyu Dong
- Department of Psychology, University of Rochester, 500 Joseph C. Wilson Blvd, Rochester, NY 14627, United States of America
| | - Bridget Shovestul
- Department of Psychology, University of Rochester, 500 Joseph C. Wilson Blvd, Rochester, NY 14627, United States of America
| | - Abhishek Saxena
- Department of Psychology, University of Rochester, 500 Joseph C. Wilson Blvd, Rochester, NY 14627, United States of America
| | - Emily Dudek
- Department of Psychology, University of Houston, Houston, TX 77204, United States of America
| | - Stephanie Reda
- Department of Psychology, University of Rochester, 500 Joseph C. Wilson Blvd, Rochester, NY 14627, United States of America
| | - J. Steven Lamberti
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Rochester Medical Center, 601 Elmwood Avenue, Rochester, NY 14642, United States of America
| | - David Dodell-Feder
- Department of Psychology, University of Rochester, 500 Joseph C. Wilson Blvd, Rochester, NY 14627, United States of America
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Rochester Medical Center, 601 Elmwood Avenue, Rochester, NY 14642, United States of America
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2
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Zuo L, Ai K, Liu W, Qiu B, Tang R, Fu J, Yang P, Kong Z, Song H, Zhu X, Zhang X. Navigating Exploitative Traps: Unveiling the Uncontrollable Reward Seeking of Internet Gaming Disordered Individuals. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY. COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE AND NEUROIMAGING 2024:S2451-9022(24)00138-1. [PMID: 38839035 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.05.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2024] [Revised: 04/17/2024] [Accepted: 05/19/2024] [Indexed: 06/07/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) involves an imbalance in the brain's dual-system, characterized by heightened reward-seeking and diminished cognitive control, which leads to decision-making challenges. The exploration-exploitation strategy is key to decision-making, but how IGD affects this process is unclear. METHODS To investigate the impact of IGD on decision-making, a modified version of the two-armed bandit task was employed. Participants included 41 IGD individuals and 44 healthy control (HC) individuals. The study assessed the strategies used by participants in the task, particularly focusing on the exploitation-exploration strategy. Additionally, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to examine brain activation patterns during decision-making and estimation phasess. RESULTS The study found that individuals with IGD demonstrated a higher reliance on exploitative strategies in decision-making due to their elevated value-seeking tendencies and decreased cognitive control. IGD individuals also displayed heightened activation in the pre-supplementary motor area (preSMA) and the ventral striatum (VS) compared to the HC group in both decision-making and estimation phases. Meanwhile, the prefrontal cortex (PFC) showed more inhibition in IGD individuals than in the HC group during exploitative strategies. This inhibition was found to decrease as cognitive control diminished. CONCLUSION The study concludes that the imbalance in the development of the dual-system in individuals with IGD may lead to an over-reliance on exploitative strategies. This imbalance, marked by increased reward-seeking and reduced cognitive control, contributes to difficulties in decision-making and value-related behavioral processes in IGD individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lin Zuo
- Department of Radiology, the First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, School of Life Science, Division of Life Science and Medicine, University of Science & Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, People's Republic of China
| | - Kedan Ai
- Department of Radiology, the First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, School of Life Science, Division of Life Science and Medicine, University of Science & Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, People's Republic of China
| | - Weili Liu
- Department of Radiology, the First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, School of Life Science, Division of Life Science and Medicine, University of Science & Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, People's Republic of China
| | - Bensheng Qiu
- Centers for Biomedical Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, People's Republic of China
| | - Rui Tang
- Department of Radiology, the First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, School of Life Science, Division of Life Science and Medicine, University of Science & Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, People's Republic of China
| | - Jiaxin Fu
- Department of Radiology, the First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, School of Life Science, Division of Life Science and Medicine, University of Science & Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, People's Republic of China
| | - Ping Yang
- Department of Psychology, School of Humanities & Social Science, University of Science & Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhuo Kong
- Department of Radiology, the First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, School of Life Science, Division of Life Science and Medicine, University of Science & Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, People's Republic of China
| | - Hongwen Song
- Department of Radiology, the First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, School of Life Science, Division of Life Science and Medicine, University of Science & Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, People's Republic of China; Key Laboratory of Philosophy and Social Science of Anhui Province on Adolescent Mental Health and Crisis Intelligence Intervention.
| | - Xiaoyu Zhu
- Department of Hematology, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of LifeSciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, People's Republic of China.
| | - Xiaochu Zhang
- Department of Radiology, the First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, School of Life Science, Division of Life Science and Medicine, University of Science & Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, People's Republic of China; Department of Psychology, School of Humanities & Social Science, University of Science & Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, People's Republic of China.
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Lloyd A, Roiser JP, Skeen S, Freeman Z, Badalova A, Agunbiade A, Busakhwe C, DeFlorio C, Marcu A, Pirie H, Saleh R, Snyder T, Fearon P, Viding E. Reviewing explore/exploit decision-making as a transdiagnostic target for psychosis, depression, and anxiety. COGNITIVE, AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2024:10.3758/s13415-024-01186-9. [PMID: 38653937 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-024-01186-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/27/2024] [Indexed: 04/25/2024]
Abstract
In many everyday decisions, individuals choose between trialling something novel or something they know well. Deciding when to try a new option or stick with an option that is already known to you, known as the "explore/exploit" dilemma, is an important feature of cognition that characterises a range of decision-making contexts encountered by humans. Recent evidence has suggested preferences in explore/exploit biases are associated with psychopathology, although this has typically been examined within individual disorders. The current review examined whether explore/exploit decision-making represents a promising transdiagnostic target for psychosis, depression, and anxiety. A systematic search of academic databases was conducted, yielding a total of 29 studies. Studies examining psychosis were mostly consistent in showing that individuals with psychosis explored more compared with individuals without psychosis. The literature on anxiety and depression was more heterogenous; some studies found that anxiety and depression were associated with more exploration, whereas other studies demonstrated reduced exploration in anxiety and depression. However, examining a subset of studies that employed case-control methods, there was some evidence that both anxiety and depression also were associated with increased exploration. Due to the heterogeneity across the literature, we suggest that there is insufficient evidence to conclude whether explore/exploit decision-making is a transdiagnostic target for psychosis, depression, and anxiety. However, alongside our advisory groups of lived experience advisors, we suggest that this context of decision-making is a promising candidate that merits further investigation using well-powered, longitudinal designs. Such work also should examine whether biases in explore/exploit choices are amenable to intervention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alex Lloyd
- Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, 26 Bedford Way, London, WC1H 0AP, UK.
| | - Jonathan P Roiser
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK
| | - Sarah Skeen
- Institute for Life Course Health Research, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
| | - Ze Freeman
- Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Aygun Badalova
- Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
| | | | | | | | - Anna Marcu
- Young People's Advisor Group, London, UK
| | | | | | | | - Pasco Fearon
- Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, 26 Bedford Way, London, WC1H 0AP, UK
- Centre for Family Research, Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Essi Viding
- Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, 26 Bedford Way, London, WC1H 0AP, UK
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Liu Y, Ren H, Zhang Y, Deng W, Ma X, Zhao L, Li X, Sham P, Wang Q, Li T. Temporal changes in brain morphology related to inflammation and schizophrenia: an omnigenic Mendelian randomization study. Psychol Med 2024:1-9. [PMID: 38445386 DOI: 10.1017/s003329172400014x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/07/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Over the past several decades, more research focuses have been made on the inflammation/immune hypothesis of schizophrenia. Building upon synaptic plasticity hypothesis, inflammation may contribute the underlying pathophysiology of schizophrenia. Yet, pinpointing the specific inflammatory agents responsible for schizophrenia remains a complex challenge, mainly due to medication and metabolic status. Multiple lines of evidence point to a wide-spread genetic association across genome underlying the phenotypic variations of schizophrenia. METHOD We collected the latest genome-wide association analysis (GWAS) summary data of schizophrenia, cytokines, and longitudinal change of brain. We utilized the omnigenic model which takes into account all genomic SNPs included in the GWAS of trait, instead of traditional Mendelian randomization (MR) methods. We conducted two round MR to investigate the inflammatory triggers of schizophrenia and the resulting longitudinal changes in the brain. RESULTS We identified seven inflammation markers linked to schizophrenia onset, which all passed the Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons (bNGF, GROA(CXCL1), IL-8, M-CSF, MCP-3 (CCL7), TNF-β, CRP). Moreover, CRP were found to significantly influence the linear rate of brain morphology changes, predominantly in the white matter of the cerebrum and cerebellum. CONCLUSION With an omnigenic approach, our study sheds light on the immune pathology of schizophrenia. Although these findings need confirmation from future studies employing different methodologies, our work provides substantial evidence that pervasive, low-level neuroinflammation may play a pivotal role in schizophrenia, potentially leading to notable longitudinal changes in brain morphology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yunjia Liu
- Mental Health Center and Psychiatric Laboratory, The State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
- Nanhu Brain-computer Interface Institute, Hangzhou 311100, China
| | - Hongyan Ren
- Mental Health Center and Psychiatric Laboratory, The State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
- Nanhu Brain-computer Interface Institute, Hangzhou 311100, China
| | - Yamin Zhang
- Affiliated Mental Health Center & Hangzhou Seventh People's Hospital and School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, 310058, China
- Lingang Laboratory, Shanghai 200031, China
- Liangzhu Laboratory, MOE Frontier Science Center for Brain Science and Brain-machine Integration, State Key Laboratory of Brain-machine Intelligence, Zhejiang University, 1369 West Wenyi Road, Hangzhou 311121, China
| | - Wei Deng
- Affiliated Mental Health Center & Hangzhou Seventh People's Hospital and School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, 310058, China
- Lingang Laboratory, Shanghai 200031, China
- Liangzhu Laboratory, MOE Frontier Science Center for Brain Science and Brain-machine Integration, State Key Laboratory of Brain-machine Intelligence, Zhejiang University, 1369 West Wenyi Road, Hangzhou 311121, China
| | - Xiaohong Ma
- Mental Health Center and Psychiatric Laboratory, The State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Liansheng Zhao
- Mental Health Center and Psychiatric Laboratory, The State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Xiaojing Li
- Affiliated Mental Health Center & Hangzhou Seventh People's Hospital and School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, 310058, China
- Lingang Laboratory, Shanghai 200031, China
- Liangzhu Laboratory, MOE Frontier Science Center for Brain Science and Brain-machine Integration, State Key Laboratory of Brain-machine Intelligence, Zhejiang University, 1369 West Wenyi Road, Hangzhou 311121, China
| | - Pak Sham
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Centre for Genomic Sciences, and Department of Psychiatry, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Qiang Wang
- Mental Health Center and Psychiatric Laboratory, The State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Tao Li
- Nanhu Brain-computer Interface Institute, Hangzhou 311100, China
- Affiliated Mental Health Center & Hangzhou Seventh People's Hospital and School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, 310058, China
- Lingang Laboratory, Shanghai 200031, China
- Liangzhu Laboratory, MOE Frontier Science Center for Brain Science and Brain-machine Integration, State Key Laboratory of Brain-machine Intelligence, Zhejiang University, 1369 West Wenyi Road, Hangzhou 311121, China
- NHC and CAMS Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
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Wyatt LE, Hewan PA, Hogeveen J, Spreng RN, Turner GR. Exploration versus exploitation decisions in the human brain: A systematic review of functional neuroimaging and neuropsychological studies. Neuropsychologia 2024; 192:108740. [PMID: 38036246 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2023.108740] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2023] [Revised: 10/15/2023] [Accepted: 11/21/2023] [Indexed: 12/02/2023]
Abstract
Thoughts and actions are often driven by a decision to either explore new avenues with unknown outcomes, or to exploit known options with predictable outcomes. Yet, the neural mechanisms underlying this exploration-exploitation trade-off in humans remain poorly understood. This is attributable to variability in the operationalization of exploration and exploitation as psychological constructs, as well as the heterogeneity of experimental protocols and paradigms used to study these choice behaviours. To address this gap, here we present a comprehensive review of the literature to investigate the neural basis of explore-exploit decision-making in humans. We first conducted a systematic review of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies of exploration-versus exploitation-based decision-making in healthy adult humans during foraging, reinforcement learning, and information search. Eleven fMRI studies met inclusion criterion for this review. Adopting a network neuroscience framework, synthesis of the findings across these studies revealed that exploration-based choice was associated with the engagement of attentional, control, and salience networks. In contrast, exploitation-based choice was associated with engagement of default network brain regions. We interpret these results in the context of a network architecture that supports the flexible switching between externally and internally directed cognitive processes, necessary for adaptive, goal-directed behaviour. To further investigate potential neural mechanisms underlying the exploration-exploitation trade-off we next surveyed studies involving neurodevelopmental, neuropsychological, and neuropsychiatric disorders, as well as lifespan development, and neurodegenerative diseases. We observed striking differences in patterns of explore-exploit decision-making across these populations, again suggesting that these two decision-making modes are supported by independent neural circuits. Taken together, our review highlights the need for precision-mapping of the neural circuitry and behavioural correlates associated with exploration and exploitation in humans. Characterizing exploration versus exploitation decision-making biases may offer a novel, trans-diagnostic approach to assessment, surveillance, and intervention for cognitive decline and dysfunction in normal development and clinical populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lindsay E Wyatt
- Department of Psychology, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Patrick A Hewan
- Department of Psychology, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Jeremy Hogeveen
- Department of Psychology, The University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA
| | - R Nathan Spreng
- Montréal Neurological Institute, Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, McGill University, Montréal, QC, H3A 2B4, Canada; Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada; Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada; McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montréal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada.
| | - Gary R Turner
- Department of Psychology, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada.
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6
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Daumas L, Zory R, Junquera-Badilla I, Ferrandez M, Ettore E, Robert P, Sacco G, Manera V, Ramanoël S. How does apathy impact exploration-exploitation decision-making in older patients with neurocognitive disorders? NPJ AGING 2023; 9:25. [PMID: 37903801 PMCID: PMC10616174 DOI: 10.1038/s41514-023-00121-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2023] [Accepted: 09/14/2023] [Indexed: 11/01/2023]
Abstract
Apathy is a pervasive clinical syndrome in neurocognitive disorders, characterized by a quantitative reduction in goal-directed behaviors. The brain structures involved in the physiopathology of apathy have also been connected to the brain structures involved in probabilistic reward learning in the exploration-exploitation dilemma. This dilemma in question involves the challenge of selecting between a familiar option with a more predictable outcome, and another option whose outcome is uncertain and may yield potentially greater rewards compared to the known option. The aim of this study was to combine experimental procedures and computational modeling to examine whether, in older adults with mild neurocognitive disorders, apathy affects performance in the exploration-exploitation dilemma. Through using a four-armed bandit reinforcement-learning task, we showed that apathetic older adults explored more and performed worse than non-apathetic subjects. Moreover, the mental flexibility assessed by the Trail-making test-B was negatively associated with the percentage of exploration. These results suggest that apathy is characterized by an increased explorative behavior and inefficient decision-making, possibly due to weak mental flexibility to switch toward the exploitation of the more rewarding options. Apathetic participants also took longer to make a choice and failed more often to respond in the allotted time, which could reflect the difficulties in action initiation and selection. In conclusion, the present results suggest that apathy in participants with neurocognitive disorders is associated with specific disturbances in the exploration-exploitation trade-off and sheds light on the disturbances in reward processing in patients with apathy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lyne Daumas
- Université Côte d'Azur, LAMHESS, Nice, France.
- Université Côte d'Azur, CoBTeK, Nice, France.
| | - Raphaël Zory
- Université Côte d'Azur, LAMHESS, Nice, France
- Institut Universitaire de France, Paris, France
| | | | - Marion Ferrandez
- Université Côte d'Azur, CoBTeK, Nice, France
- Université Côte d'Azur, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nice, service Clinique Gériatrique de Soins Ambulatoires, Centre Mémoire de Ressources et de Recherche, Nice, France
| | - Eric Ettore
- Université Côte d'Azur, CoBTeK, Nice, France
- Université Côte d'Azur, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nice, service Clinique Gériatrique de Soins Ambulatoires, Centre Mémoire de Ressources et de Recherche, Nice, France
- Association Innovation Alzheimer, Nice, France
| | - Philippe Robert
- Université Côte d'Azur, CoBTeK, Nice, France
- Association Innovation Alzheimer, Nice, France
| | - Guillaume Sacco
- Université Côte d'Azur, CoBTeK, Nice, France
- Université Côte d'Azur, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nice, service Clinique Gériatrique de Soins Ambulatoires, Centre Mémoire de Ressources et de Recherche, Nice, France
- Association Innovation Alzheimer, Nice, France
- Univ Angers, Université de Nantes, LPPL, SFR CONFLUENCES, 49000, Angers, France
| | - Valeria Manera
- Université Côte d'Azur, CoBTeK, Nice, France
- Association Innovation Alzheimer, Nice, France
| | - Stephen Ramanoël
- Université Côte d'Azur, LAMHESS, Nice, France
- Sorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, Institut de la Vision, 17 rue Moreau, 75012, Paris, France
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7
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Huang J, Olsson T, Kockum I. Overlapping protein profile of first-episode psychosis patients and common handling markers may indicate presence of preanalytical variability: A response to "Immunological protein profiling of first-episode psychosis patients identifies CSF and blood biomarkers correlating with disease severity" (2023). Brain Behav Immun 2023; 113:302. [PMID: 37494984 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbi.2023.07.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2023] [Accepted: 07/22/2023] [Indexed: 07/28/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Jesse Huang
- Karolinska Institutet, Center of Molecular Medicine, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Tomas Olsson
- Karolinska Institutet, Center of Molecular Medicine, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Ingrid Kockum
- Karolinska Institutet, Center of Molecular Medicine, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
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8
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Fradkin I, Nour MM, Dolan RJ. Theory-Driven Analysis of Natural Language Processing Measures of Thought Disorder Using Generative Language Modeling. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY. COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE AND NEUROIMAGING 2023; 8:1013-1023. [PMID: 37257754 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2023.05.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2022] [Revised: 05/19/2023] [Accepted: 05/19/2023] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Natural language processing (NLP) holds promise to transform psychiatric research and practice. A pertinent example is the success of NLP in the automatic detection of speech disorganization in formal thought disorder (FTD). However, we lack an understanding of precisely what common NLP metrics measure and how they relate to theoretical accounts of FTD. We propose tackling these questions by using deep generative language models to simulate FTD-like narratives by perturbing computational parameters instantiating theory-based mechanisms of FTD. METHODS We simulated FTD-like narratives using Generative-Pretrained-Transformer-2 by either increasing word selection stochasticity or limiting the model's memory span. We then examined the sensitivity of common NLP measures of derailment (semantic distance between consecutive words or sentences) and tangentiality (how quickly meaning drifts away from the topic) in detecting and dissociating the 2 underlying impairments. RESULTS Both parameters led to narratives characterized by greater semantic distance between consecutive sentences. Conversely, semantic distance between words was increased by increasing stochasticity, but decreased by limiting memory span. An NLP measure of tangentiality was uniquely predicted by limited memory span. The effects of limited memory span were nonmonotonic in that forgetting the global context resulted in sentences that were semantically closer to their local, intermediate context. Finally, different methods for encoding the meaning of sentences varied dramatically in performance. CONCLUSIONS This work validates a simulation-based approach as a valuable tool for hypothesis generation and mechanistic analysis of NLP markers in psychiatry. To facilitate dissemination of this approach, we accompany the paper with a hands-on Python tutorial.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isaac Fradkin
- Max Planck University College London Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, London, United Kingdom.
| | - Matthew M Nour
- Max Planck University College London Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, London, United Kingdom; Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Raymond J Dolan
- Max Planck University College London Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, London, United Kingdom; Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, London, United Kingdom; State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
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Sidorenko N, Chung HK, Grueschow M, Quednow BB, Hayward-Könnecke H, Jetter A, Tobler PN. Acetylcholine and noradrenaline enhance foraging optimality in humans. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2305596120. [PMID: 37639601 PMCID: PMC10483619 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2305596120] [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: 04/12/2023] [Accepted: 07/26/2023] [Indexed: 08/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Foraging theory prescribes when optimal foragers should leave the current option for more rewarding alternatives. Actual foragers often exploit options longer than prescribed by the theory, but it is unclear how this foraging suboptimality arises. We investigated whether the upregulation of cholinergic, noradrenergic, and dopaminergic systems increases foraging optimality. In a double-blind, between-subject design, participants (N = 160) received placebo, the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor agonist nicotine, a noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor reboxetine, or a preferential dopamine reuptake inhibitor methylphenidate, and played the role of a farmer who collected milk from patches with different yield. Across all groups, participants on average overharvested. While methylphenidate had no effects on this bias, nicotine, and to some extent also reboxetine, significantly reduced deviation from foraging optimality, which resulted in better performance compared to placebo. Concurring with amplified goal-directedness and excluding heuristic explanations, nicotine independently also improved trial initiation and time perception. Our findings elucidate the neurochemical basis of behavioral flexibility and decision optimality and open unique perspectives on psychiatric disorders affecting these functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nick Sidorenko
- Department of Economics, Laboratory for Social and Neural Systems Research, University of Zurich, Zurich8006, Switzerland
- Department of Economics, Zurich Center for Neuroeconomics, University of Zurich, Zurich8006, Switzerland
| | - Hui-Kuan Chung
- Department of Economics, Laboratory for Social and Neural Systems Research, University of Zurich, Zurich8006, Switzerland
- Department of Economics, Zurich Center for Neuroeconomics, University of Zurich, Zurich8006, Switzerland
| | - Marcus Grueschow
- Department of Economics, Laboratory for Social and Neural Systems Research, University of Zurich, Zurich8006, Switzerland
- Department of Economics, Zurich Center for Neuroeconomics, University of Zurich, Zurich8006, Switzerland
| | - Boris B. Quednow
- Experimental and Clinical Pharmacopsychology, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich8008, Switzerland
- Neuroscience Center Zurich, ETH Zurich and University of Zurich, Zurich8057, Switzerland
| | - Helen Hayward-Könnecke
- Department of Neurology, Section of Neuroimmunology and Multiple Sclerosis Research, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich8091, Switzerland
| | - Alexander Jetter
- National Poisons Information Centre, Tox Info Suisse, Associated Institute of the University of Zurich, Zurich8032, Switzerland
| | - Philippe N. Tobler
- Department of Economics, Laboratory for Social and Neural Systems Research, University of Zurich, Zurich8006, Switzerland
- Department of Economics, Zurich Center for Neuroeconomics, University of Zurich, Zurich8006, Switzerland
- Neuroscience Center Zurich, ETH Zurich and University of Zurich, Zurich8057, Switzerland
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10
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Eren F, Schwieler L, Orhan F, Malmqvist A, Piehl F, Cervenka S, Sellgren CM, Fatouros-Bergman H, Engberg G, Erhardt S. Immunological protein profiling of first-episode psychosis patients identifies CSF and blood biomarkers correlating with disease severity. Brain Behav Immun 2023; 111:376-385. [PMID: 37146654 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbi.2023.04.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2022] [Revised: 04/21/2023] [Accepted: 04/30/2023] [Indexed: 05/07/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND HYPOTHESIS Immune activation is suggested to play an important role in psychosis. In this study, a large number of immune-related proteins were analyzed to obtain a more comprehensive picture of immune aberrations in schizophrenia. STUDY DESIGN Ninety-two immune markers were analyzed by the Olink Protein Extension Assay (Inflammatory Panel) in plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from 77 first-episode psychosis (FEP) patients (of which 43 later received the diagnosis of schizophrenia) and 56 healthy controls, all recruited from the Karolinska Schizophrenia Project (KaSP), Stockholm, Sweden. STUDY RESULTS Differential analysis showed that 12 of 92 inflammatory proteins were significantly higher in the plasma of FEP patients (n = 77) than in controls, and several proteins were positively correlated with disease severity. Patients from the same cohort diagnosed with schizophrenia (n = 43), showed significantly higher levels of 15 plasma proteins compared to controls whereas those not receiving this diagnosis showed no significant differences. The presently used OLINK inflammatory panel allowed the detection of only 47 CSF proteins of which only CD5 differed between patients and controls. CONCLUSIONS The levels of several peripheral immune markers, particularly those interfering with WNT/β-catenin signaling, were significantly higher in patients with FEP than in healthy controls and associated with illness severity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Feride Eren
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Lilly Schwieler
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Funda Orhan
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Anna Malmqvist
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Fredrik Piehl
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Neuroimmunology Unit, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Simon Cervenka
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Centre for Psychiatry Research, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet and Stockholm Health Care Services, Stockholm County Council, Stockholm, Sweden; Department of Medical Sciences, Psychiatry, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Carl M Sellgren
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Centre for Psychiatry Research, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet and Stockholm Health Care Services, Stockholm County Council, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Helena Fatouros-Bergman
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Centre for Psychiatry Research, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet and Stockholm Health Care Services, Stockholm County Council, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Göran Engberg
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
| | - Sophie Erhardt
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
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11
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Speers LJ, Bilkey DK. Maladaptive explore/exploit trade-offs in schizophrenia. Trends Neurosci 2023; 46:341-354. [PMID: 36878821 DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2023.02.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2022] [Revised: 01/30/2023] [Accepted: 02/08/2023] [Indexed: 03/07/2023]
Abstract
Schizophrenia is a complex disorder that remains poorly understood, particularly at the systems level. In this opinion article we argue that the explore/exploit trade-off concept provides a holistic and ecologically valid framework to resolve some of the apparent paradoxes that have emerged within schizophrenia research. We review recent evidence suggesting that fundamental explore/exploit behaviors may be maladaptive in schizophrenia during physical, visual, and cognitive foraging. We also describe how theories from the broader optimal foraging literature, such as the marginal value theorem (MVT), could provide valuable insight into how aberrant processing of reward, context, and cost/effort evaluations interact to produce maladaptive responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucinda J Speers
- Department of Psychology, University of Otago, Dunedin 9016, New Zealand
| | - David K Bilkey
- Department of Psychology, University of Otago, Dunedin 9016, New Zealand.
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12
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Lestra V, Romeo B, Martelli C, Benyamina A, Hamdani N. Could CRP be a differential biomarker of illness stages in schizophrenia? A systematic review and meta-analysis. Schizophr Res 2022; 246:175-186. [PMID: 35785580 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2022.06.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2021] [Revised: 05/13/2022] [Accepted: 06/22/2022] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Patients with schizophrenia display peripheral inflammation but the impact of illness phase is not clear. Our meta-analysis investigated the difference in CRP levels between patients with schizophrenia and controls according to their illness phase. METHODS After a systematic search, all studies measuring CRP in patients with schizophrenia and controls were included. Standardized mean differences were calculated between patients and controls according to illness phase. The influence of sociodemographic and clinical variables on our results was investigated using a meta-regression analysis. RESULTS Fifty studies were included in this meta-analysis. Patients with schizophrenia had higher CRP levels than controls in the acute (p < 0.00001) and stable (p < 0.00001) stage of their disease. Patients with acute exacerbation of schizophrenia had higher CRP levels than stable patients (p = 0.02) but this difference did not persist when considering antipsychotic-medicated patients in both phases. Meta-regressions found that the increase of CRP in acutely ill patients as compared to controls was influenced by age (p < 0.01), BMI (p = 0.01) and first episode (p = 0.02), whereas the increase in CRP levels of stable patients as compared to controls was moderated by BMI (p = 0.004). CONCLUSIONS In conclusion, this meta-analysis provides strong evidence that patients with schizophrenia have higher CRP levels than controls, but also show an increase in inflammatory response in the acute stage of the disease as compared to the stable stage. CRP could thus be considered as a state marker and a trait marker of the disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- V Lestra
- APHP, Paul Brousse Hospital, Department of Psychiatry and Addictology, F-94800 Villejuif, France; Unité Psychiatrie-Comorbidités-Addictions, PSYCOMADD 4872, Université Paris-Sud - AP-HP, Université Paris Saclay, France
| | - B Romeo
- APHP, Paul Brousse Hospital, Department of Psychiatry and Addictology, F-94800 Villejuif, France; Unité Psychiatrie-Comorbidités-Addictions, PSYCOMADD 4872, Université Paris-Sud - AP-HP, Université Paris Saclay, France.
| | - C Martelli
- APHP, Paul Brousse Hospital, Department of Psychiatry and Addictology, F-94800 Villejuif, France; Unité Psychiatrie-Comorbidités-Addictions, PSYCOMADD 4872, Université Paris-Sud - AP-HP, Université Paris Saclay, France; Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale U1299, Research unit, NeuroImaging and Psychiatry, Paris Sud University, Paris Saclay University, Paris Descartes University, Digiteo Labs, Bâtiment 660, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - A Benyamina
- APHP, Paul Brousse Hospital, Department of Psychiatry and Addictology, F-94800 Villejuif, France; Unité Psychiatrie-Comorbidités-Addictions, PSYCOMADD 4872, Université Paris-Sud - AP-HP, Université Paris Saclay, France
| | - N Hamdani
- Unité Psychiatrie-Comorbidités-Addictions, PSYCOMADD 4872, Université Paris-Sud - AP-HP, Université Paris Saclay, France; Cédiapsy, 87 rue d'Assas, 75006 Paris, France
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13
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Hauke G, Lohr C. Piloting the Update: The Use of Therapeutic Relationship for Change - A Free Energy Account. Front Psychol 2022; 13:842488. [PMID: 35478746 PMCID: PMC9036100 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.842488] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2021] [Accepted: 03/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
We apply the Free Energy Principle (FEP) to cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). FEP describes the basic functioning of the brain as a predictive organ and states that any self-organizing system that is in equilibrium with its environment must minimize its free energy. Based on an internal model of the world and the self, predictions-so-called priors-are created, which are matched with the information input. The sum of prediction errors corresponds to the Free Energy, which must be minimized. Internal models can be identified with the cognitive-affective schemas of the individual that has become dysfunctional in patients. The role of CBT in this picture is to help the patient update her/his priors. They have evolved in learning history and no longer provide adaptive predictions. We discuss the process of updating in terms of the exploration-exploitation dilemma. This consists of the extent to which one relies on what one already has, i.e., whether one continues to maintain and "exploit" one's previous priors ("better safe than sorry") or whether one does explore new data that lead to an update of priors. Questioning previous priors triggers stress, which is associated with increases in Free Energy in short term. The role of therapeutic relationship is to buffer this increase in Free Energy, thereby increasing the level of perceived safety. The therapeutic relationship is represented in a dual model of affective alliance and goal attainment alliance and is aligned with FEP. Both forms of alliance support exploration and updating of priors. All aspects are illustrated with the help of a clinical case example.
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14
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Purcell JR, Herms EN, Morales J, Hetrick WP, Wisner KM, Brown JW. A review of risky decision-making in psychosis-spectrum disorders. Clin Psychol Rev 2022; 91:102112. [PMID: 34990988 PMCID: PMC8754677 DOI: 10.1016/j.cpr.2021.102112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2021] [Revised: 10/29/2021] [Accepted: 12/16/2021] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
The investigation of risky decision-making has a prominent place in clinical science, with sundry behavioral tasks aimed at empirically quantifying the psychological construct of risk-taking. However, use of differing behavioral tasks has resulted in lack of agreement on risky decision-making within psychosis-spectrum disorders, as findings fail to converge upon the typical, binary conceptualization of increased risk-seeking or risk-aversion. The current review synthesizes the behavioral, risky decision-making literature to elucidate how specific task parameters may contribute to differences in task performance, and their associations with psychosis symptomatology and cognitive functioning. A paring of the literature suggests that: 1) Explicit risk-taking may be characterized by risk imperception, evidenced by less discrimination between choices of varying degrees of risk, potentially secondary to cognitive deficits. 2) Ambiguous risk-taking findings are inconclusive with few published studies. 3) Uncertain risk-taking findings, consistently interpreted as more risk-averse, have not parsed risk attitudes from confounding processes that may impact decision-making (e.g. risk imperception, reward processing, motivation). Thus, overgeneralized interpretations of task-specific risk-seeking/aversion should be curtailed, as they may fail to appropriately characterize decision-making phenomena. Future research in psychosis-spectrum disorders would benefit from empirically isolating contributions of specific processes during risky decision-making, including the newly hypothesized risk imperception.
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Affiliation(s)
- John R Purcell
- Indiana University, Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, USA; Indiana University, Program in Neuroscience, USA.
| | - Emma N Herms
- Indiana University, Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, USA
| | - Jaime Morales
- Indiana University, Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, USA; Indiana University, Program in Neuroscience, USA
| | - William P Hetrick
- Indiana University, Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, USA; Indiana University, Program in Neuroscience, USA
| | - Krista M Wisner
- Indiana University, Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, USA; Indiana University, Program in Neuroscience, USA
| | - Joshua W Brown
- Indiana University, Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, USA; Indiana University, Program in Neuroscience, USA
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15
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Costi S, Morris LS, Collins A, Fernandez NF, Patel M, Xie H, Kim-Schulze S, Stern ER, Collins KA, Cathomas F, Parides MK, Whitton AE, Pizzagalli DA, Russo SJ, Murrough JW. Peripheral immune cell reactivity and neural response to reward in patients with depression and anhedonia. Transl Psychiatry 2021; 11:565. [PMID: 34741019 PMCID: PMC8571388 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-021-01668-1] [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] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2021] [Revised: 09/10/2021] [Accepted: 10/04/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Increased levels of peripheral cytokines have been previously associated with depression in preclinical and clinical research. Although the precise nature of peripheral immune dysfunction in depression remains unclear, evidence from animal studies points towards a dysregulated response of peripheral leukocytes as a risk factor for stress susceptibility. This study examined dynamic release of inflammatory blood factors from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) in depressed patients and associations with neural and behavioral measures of reward processing. Thirty unmedicated patients meeting criteria for unipolar depressive disorder and 21 healthy control volunteers were enrolled. PBMCs were isolated from whole blood and stimulated ex vivo with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Olink multiplex assay was used to analyze a large panel of inflammatory proteins. Participants completed functional magnetic resonance imaging with an incentive flanker task to probe neural responses to reward anticipation, as well as clinical measures of anhedonia and pleasure including the Temporal Experience of Pleasure Scale (TEPS) and the Snaith-Hamilton Pleasure Scale (SHAPS). LPS stimulation revealed larger increases in immune factors in depressed compared to healthy subjects using an aggregate immune score (t49 = 2.83, p = 0.007). Higher peripheral immune score was associated with reduced neural responses to reward anticipation within the ventral striatum (VS) (r = -0.39, p = 0.01), and with reduced anticipation of pleasure as measured with the TEPS anticipatory sub-score (r = -0.318, p = 0.023). Our study provides new evidence suggesting that dynamic hyper-reactivity of peripheral leukocytes in depressed patients is associated with blunted activation of the brain reward system and lower subjective anticipation of pleasure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Costi
- grid.59734.3c0000 0001 0670 2351Depression and Anxiety Center for Discovery and Treatment, Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY USA
| | - Laurel S. Morris
- grid.59734.3c0000 0001 0670 2351Depression and Anxiety Center for Discovery and Treatment, Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY USA
| | - Abigail Collins
- grid.59734.3c0000 0001 0670 2351Depression and Anxiety Center for Discovery and Treatment, Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY USA
| | - Nicolas F. Fernandez
- grid.59734.3c0000 0001 0670 2351Human Immune Monitoring Center, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY USA
| | - Manishkumar Patel
- grid.59734.3c0000 0001 0670 2351Human Immune Monitoring Center, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY USA
| | - Hui Xie
- grid.59734.3c0000 0001 0670 2351Human Immune Monitoring Center, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY USA
| | - Seunghee Kim-Schulze
- grid.59734.3c0000 0001 0670 2351Human Immune Monitoring Center, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY USA ,grid.59734.3c0000 0001 0670 2351Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY USA
| | - Emily R. Stern
- grid.137628.90000 0004 1936 8753Department of Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY USA ,grid.250263.00000 0001 2189 4777Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY USA
| | - Katherine A. Collins
- grid.59734.3c0000 0001 0670 2351Depression and Anxiety Center for Discovery and Treatment, Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY USA ,grid.250263.00000 0001 2189 4777Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY USA
| | - Flurin Cathomas
- grid.59734.3c0000 0001 0670 2351Department of Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY USA
| | - Michael K. Parides
- grid.240283.f0000 0001 2152 0791Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, NY USA
| | - Alexis E. Whitton
- grid.38142.3c000000041936754XDepartment of Psychiatry, McLean Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Belmont, MA USA ,grid.1013.30000 0004 1936 834XSchool of Medical Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW Australia
| | - Diego A. Pizzagalli
- grid.38142.3c000000041936754XDepartment of Psychiatry, McLean Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Belmont, MA USA
| | - Scott J. Russo
- grid.59734.3c0000 0001 0670 2351Department of Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY USA ,grid.59734.3c0000 0001 0670 2351Center for Affective Neuroscience, Department of Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY USA
| | - James W. Murrough
- grid.59734.3c0000 0001 0670 2351Depression and Anxiety Center for Discovery and Treatment, Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY USA ,grid.59734.3c0000 0001 0670 2351Department of Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY USA
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16
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Common and disorder-specific upregulation of the inflammatory markers TRAIL and CCL20 in depression and schizophrenia. Sci Rep 2021; 11:19204. [PMID: 34584171 PMCID: PMC8479067 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-98769-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2020] [Accepted: 08/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Schizophrenia (SZ) and major depressive disorder (MDD) are severe mental disorders, which have been associated with alterations of the peripheral inflammatory network. However, studies for both disorders have not been fully consistent and have focused on few canonical markers with high relevance to the innate immune system, while the role of the adaptive immune system is studied less. Furthermore, it is unclear to what extent inflammatory abnormalities are diagnosis-specific or transdiagnostic. The purpose of this study was to investigate 75 peripheral inflammatory markers including the acute phase protein high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) in patients with MDD (n = 37), SZ (n = 42) and healthy controls (HC) (n = 17), while considering possible confounders and correcting rigorously for multiple testing in group comparisons. We identified C–C chemokine ligand 20 (CCL20) and tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) as the inflammatory markers with significant group differences after controlling for multiple comparisons and adjusting for BMI, sex and smoking as confounders. TRAIL was elevated in both MDD and SZ compared to HC. CCL20 was specifically increased in SZ compared to MDD and HC. There were no significant group differences in hsCRP after correcting for multiple testing. Finally, we observed no significant correlations among CCL20, TRAIL and CRP. TRAIL is a transdiagnostic marker for SZ and MDD, with both markers being independent from CRP and body mass index (BMI). CCL20 may be a novel and specific biomarker of schizophrenia, but an influence of antipsychotic medication cannot be excluded. Identifying novel markers in mental disease bears the potential for future research towards novel treatment strategies by modifying inflammation-related processes.
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17
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Bavato F, Cathomas F, Klaus F, Gütter K, Barro C, Maceski A, Seifritz E, Kuhle J, Kaiser S, Quednow BB. Altered neuroaxonal integrity in schizophrenia and major depressive disorder assessed with neurofilament light chain in serum. J Psychiatr Res 2021; 140:141-148. [PMID: 34116440 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2021.05.072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2021] [Revised: 05/11/2021] [Accepted: 05/29/2021] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Schizophrenia (SZ) and major depressive disorders (MDD) have been frequently linked to anatomical brain alterations. However, the relationship between brain pathology, inflammation and clinical symptoms in these disorders is still unclear. Thus, by applying novel blood markers of neuroaxonal integrity such as neurofilament light chain (NfL), we can now address main issues in psychiatric research and potentially offer innovative diagnostic tools toward better clinical characterizations and monitoring in both SZ and MDD. METHODS NfL levels were measured in serum of 44 patients with SZ and in 41 patients with MDD applying single molecule array technology and compared to a healthy norm population. Main inflammatory markers (C- reactive protein, interleukins IL-6 and IL-10) were measured to define patients with inflammatory phenotype. The Digit Symbol Substitution Task (DSST) and the Letter-Number-Sequencing Task were performed to estimate cognitive function in both groups. RESULTS NfL levels in MDD group (but not in SZ group) were significantly higher than reference values of healthy norm population. A higher than expected proportion of patients with NfL levels above age-specific cut-off values was observed in both SZ and MDD groups. No correlation was observed between NfL and inflammatory markers. A negative correlation between DSST and NfL-values was observed in patients with MDD. CONCLUSIONS Both SZ and MDD showed elevated serum levels of NfL, which were independent from inflammatory markers but associated with cognitive performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesco Bavato
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric University Hospital Zürich, University of Zurich, Switzerland.
| | - Flurin Cathomas
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric University Hospital Zürich, University of Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Federica Klaus
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric University Hospital Zürich, University of Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Karoline Gütter
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric University Hospital Zürich, University of Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Christian Barro
- Neurologic Clinic and Policlinic, Departments of Medicine, Biomedicine and Clinical Research, University Hospital Basel, University of Basel, Switzerland
| | - Aleksandra Maceski
- Neurologic Clinic and Policlinic, Departments of Medicine, Biomedicine and Clinical Research, University Hospital Basel, University of Basel, Switzerland
| | - Erich Seifritz
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric University Hospital Zürich, University of Zurich, Switzerland; Neuroscience Center Zurich, University of Zurich and Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Jens Kuhle
- Neurologic Clinic and Policlinic, Departments of Medicine, Biomedicine and Clinical Research, University Hospital Basel, University of Basel, Switzerland
| | - Stefan Kaiser
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric University Hospital Zürich, University of Zurich, Switzerland; Division of Adult Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Geneva University Hospitals, Chemin du Petit-Bel-Air, 1225, Chêne-Bourg, Switzerland
| | - Boris B Quednow
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric University Hospital Zürich, University of Zurich, Switzerland; Neuroscience Center Zurich, University of Zurich and Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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18
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Boczek T, Mackiewicz J, Sobolczyk M, Wawrzyniak J, Lisek M, Ferenc B, Guo F, Zylinska L. The Role of G Protein-Coupled Receptors (GPCRs) and Calcium Signaling in Schizophrenia. Focus on GPCRs Activated by Neurotransmitters and Chemokines. Cells 2021; 10:cells10051228. [PMID: 34067760 PMCID: PMC8155952 DOI: 10.3390/cells10051228] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2021] [Revised: 05/12/2021] [Accepted: 05/14/2021] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Schizophrenia is a common debilitating disease characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Although the molecular mechanisms underlying this psychiatric illness remain incompletely understood, a growing body of clinical, pharmacological, and genetic evidence suggests that G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) play a critical role in disease development, progression, and treatment. This pivotal role is further highlighted by the fact that GPCRs are the most common targets for antipsychotic drugs. The GPCRs activation evokes slow synaptic transmission through several downstream pathways, many of them engaging intracellular Ca2+ mobilization. Dysfunctions of the neurotransmitter systems involving the action of GPCRs in the frontal and limbic-related regions are likely to underly the complex picture that includes the whole spectrum of positive and negative schizophrenia symptoms. Therefore, the progress in our understanding of GPCRs function in the control of brain cognitive functions is expected to open new avenues for selective drug development. In this paper, we review and synthesize the recent data regarding the contribution of neurotransmitter-GPCRs signaling to schizophrenia symptomology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomasz Boczek
- Department of Molecular Neurochemistry, Faculty of Health Sciences, Medical University of Lodz, 92215 Lodz, Poland; (T.B.); (J.M.); (M.S.); (J.W.); (M.L.); (B.F.)
| | - Joanna Mackiewicz
- Department of Molecular Neurochemistry, Faculty of Health Sciences, Medical University of Lodz, 92215 Lodz, Poland; (T.B.); (J.M.); (M.S.); (J.W.); (M.L.); (B.F.)
| | - Marta Sobolczyk
- Department of Molecular Neurochemistry, Faculty of Health Sciences, Medical University of Lodz, 92215 Lodz, Poland; (T.B.); (J.M.); (M.S.); (J.W.); (M.L.); (B.F.)
| | - Julia Wawrzyniak
- Department of Molecular Neurochemistry, Faculty of Health Sciences, Medical University of Lodz, 92215 Lodz, Poland; (T.B.); (J.M.); (M.S.); (J.W.); (M.L.); (B.F.)
| | - Malwina Lisek
- Department of Molecular Neurochemistry, Faculty of Health Sciences, Medical University of Lodz, 92215 Lodz, Poland; (T.B.); (J.M.); (M.S.); (J.W.); (M.L.); (B.F.)
| | - Bozena Ferenc
- Department of Molecular Neurochemistry, Faculty of Health Sciences, Medical University of Lodz, 92215 Lodz, Poland; (T.B.); (J.M.); (M.S.); (J.W.); (M.L.); (B.F.)
| | - Feng Guo
- Department of Pharmaceutical Toxicology, School of Pharmacy, China Medical University, Shenyang 110122, China;
| | - Ludmila Zylinska
- Department of Molecular Neurochemistry, Faculty of Health Sciences, Medical University of Lodz, 92215 Lodz, Poland; (T.B.); (J.M.); (M.S.); (J.W.); (M.L.); (B.F.)
- Correspondence:
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19
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Cathomas F, Guetter K, Seifritz E, Klaus F, Kaiser S. Quinolinic acid is associated with cognitive deficits in schizophrenia but not major depressive disorder. Sci Rep 2021; 11:9992. [PMID: 33976271 PMCID: PMC8113521 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-89335-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2020] [Accepted: 04/20/2021] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Tryptophan and its catabolites (TRYCATs) have been suggested to link peripheral immune system activation and central neurotransmitter abnormalities with relevance to the etio-pathophysiology of schizophrenia (SZ) and major depressive disorder (MDD). The relationship to different psychopathological dimensions within these disorders however remains to be elucidated. We thus investigated potential group differences of tryptophan, kynurenine, kynurenic acid, 3-hydroxy kynurenine and quinolinic acid in the plasma of 19 healthy controls (HC), 45 patients with SZ and 43 patients with MDD and correlated plasma proteins with the "motivation and pleasure" dimension and cognition. After correcting for the covariates age, sex, body mass index, smoking and medication, patients with MDD showed lower kynurenine and 3-hydroxy kynurenine levels compared to HC. Quinolinic acid correlated negatively with composite cognitive score in patients with SZ, indicating that more severe cognitive impairments were associated with increased plasma levels of quinolinic acid. No correlations were found in patients with MDD. These results indicate that MDD and SZ are associated with dysregulation of the kynurenine pathway. Quinolinic acid might be specifically implicated in the pathophysiology of cognitive deficits in patients with SZ. Further studies are needed to determine whether TRYCATs are causally involved in the etiology of these neuropsychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Flurin Cathomas
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric Hospital, University of Zurich, Lenggstrasse 31, 8032, Zürich, Switzerland. .,Fishberg Department of Neuroscience, Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Mount Sinai, NY, USA.
| | - Karoline Guetter
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric Hospital, University of Zurich, Lenggstrasse 31, 8032, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Erich Seifritz
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric Hospital, University of Zurich, Lenggstrasse 31, 8032, Zürich, Switzerland.,Neuroscience Center Zurich, ETH Zurich and University of Zurich, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Federica Klaus
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric Hospital, University of Zurich, Lenggstrasse 31, 8032, Zürich, Switzerland.,Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, San Diego, USA
| | - Stefan Kaiser
- Division of Adult Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Geneva University Hospitals, Chemin du Petit-Bel-Air, 1225, Chêne-Bourg, Switzerland
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Cathomas F, Klaus F, Guetter K, Seifritz E, Hartmann-Riemer MN, Tobler PN, Kaiser S, Kaliuzhna M. Associations Between Negative Symptoms and Effort Discounting in Patients With Schizophrenia and Major Depressive Disorder. SCHIZOPHRENIA BULLETIN OPEN 2021; 2:sgab022. [PMID: 34901865 PMCID: PMC8650075 DOI: 10.1093/schizbullopen/sgab022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
Abstract
Deficits in goal-directed decision making and motivation are hallmark characteristics of several neuropsychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia (SZ) and major depressive disorder (MDD). Studies using effort-based decision-making tasks have shown that both patients with SZ and MDD invest less physical effort in order to obtain rewards. However, how these motivational deficits relate to clinically assessed symptom dimensions such as apathy remains controversial. Using a grip-strength-based effort discounting task we assessed effort-based decision-making behavior in healthy controls (HC) (N = 18), patients with SZ (N = 42), and MDD (N = 44). We then investigated how effort discounting relates to different symptom dimensions. There were no differences in effort discounting between HC participants and patients with SZ or MDD. In addition, we did not observe a correlation between effort discounting and negative symptoms (NS) in patients with SZ or MDD. In conclusion, the current study does not support an association between effort discounting and NS in SZ or MDD. Further studies are needed to investigate effort discounting and its relation to psychopathological dimensions across different neuropsychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Flurin Cathomas
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric Hospital, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Fishberg Department of Neuroscience, Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Federica Klaus
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric Hospital, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Karoline Guetter
- 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
- Neuroscience Center Zurich, ETH Zurich and University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Matthias N Hartmann-Riemer
- 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
- Division of Adult Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Geneva University Hospitals, Thônex, Switzerland
| | - Mariia Kaliuzhna
- Division of Adult Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Geneva University Hospitals, Thônex, Switzerland
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