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Smucny J, Hanks TD, Lesh TA, Carter CS. Altered Associations Between Task Performance and Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex Activation During Cognitive Control in Schizophrenia. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY. COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE AND NEUROIMAGING 2023; 8:1050-1057. [PMID: 37295646 PMCID: PMC11189634 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2023.05.010] [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: 04/20/2023] [Revised: 05/11/2023] [Accepted: 05/31/2023] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Dysfunctional cognitive control processes are now well understood to be core features of schizophrenia (SZ). A body of work suggests that the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) plays a critical role in explaining cognitive control disruptions in SZ. Here, we examined relationships between DLPFC activation and drift rate (DR), a model-based performance measure that combines reaction time and accuracy, in people with SZ and healthy control (HC) participants. METHODS One hundred fifty-one people with recent-onset SZ spectrum disorders and 118 HC participants performed the AX-Continuous Performance Task during functional magnetic resonance imaging scanning. Proactive cognitive control-associated activation was extracted from left and right DLPFC regions of interest. Individual behavior was fit using a drift diffusion model, allowing DR to vary between task conditions. RESULTS Behaviorally, people with SZ showed significantly lower DRs than HC participants, particularly during high proactive control trial types ("B" trials). Recapitulating previous findings, the SZ group also demonstrated reduced cognitive control-associated DLPFC activation compared with HC participants. Furthermore, significant group differences were also observed in the relationship between left and right DLPFC activation with DR, such that positive relationships between DR and activation were found in HC participants but not in people with SZ. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that DLPFC activation is less associated with cognitive control-related behavioral performance enhancements in SZ. Potential mechanisms and implications are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason Smucny
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, Davis, Davis, California; Center for Neuroscience, University of California, Davis, Davis, California.
| | - Timothy D Hanks
- Center for Neuroscience, University of California, Davis, Davis, California; Department of Neurology, University of California, Davis, Davis, California
| | - Tyler A Lesh
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, Davis, Davis, California; Center for Neuroscience, University of California, Davis, Davis, California
| | - Cameron S Carter
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, Davis, Davis, California; Center for Neuroscience, University of California, Davis, Davis, California
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Snelleksz M, Rossell SL, Gibbons A, Nithianantharajah J, Dean B. Evidence that the frontal pole has a significant role in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. Psychiatry Res 2022; 317:114850. [PMID: 36174274 DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2022.114850] [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] [Received: 08/16/2022] [Revised: 09/07/2022] [Accepted: 09/11/2022] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Different regions of the cortex have been implicated in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. Recently published data suggested there are many more changes in gene expression in the frontal pole (Brodmann's Area (BA) 10) compared to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (BA 9) and the anterior cingulate cortex (BA 33) from patients with schizophrenia. These data argued that the frontal pole is significantly affected by the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. The frontal pole is a region necessary for higher cognitive functions and is highly interconnected with many other brain regions. In this review we summarise the growing body of evidence to support the hypothesis that a dysfunctional frontal pole, due at least in part to its widespread effects on brain function, is making an important contribution to the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. We detail the many structural, cellular and molecular abnormalities in the frontal pole from people with schizophrenia and present findings that argue the symptoms of schizophrenia are closely linked to dysfunction in this critical brain region.
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Affiliation(s)
- Megan Snelleksz
- Synaptic Biology and Cognition Laboratory, The Florey Institute for Neuroscience and Mental Health, Parkville, Victoria, Australia; The Florey Department of Neuroscience and Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Susan L Rossell
- Centre for Mental Health, School of Health Sciences, Swinburne University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Department of Psychiatry, St Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Andrew Gibbons
- The Department of Psychiatry, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
| | - Jess Nithianantharajah
- The Florey Department of Neuroscience and Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Brian Dean
- Synaptic Biology and Cognition Laboratory, The Florey Institute for Neuroscience and Mental Health, Parkville, Victoria, Australia; The Florey Department of Neuroscience and Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
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Ding H, Zhong Y, Liu N, Wu H, Xu H, Wu Y, Liu G, Yuan S, Zhou Q, Wang C. Panic disorder aging characteristics: The role of telomerase reverse transcriptase gene and brain function. Front Aging Neurosci 2022; 14:835963. [PMID: 35992589 PMCID: PMC9389410 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2022.835963] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2021] [Accepted: 07/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Panic disorder (PD) causes serious functional damage and disability and accelerates the process of individual aging. The pathological basis of PD is the same as that of age-related diseases, which is proposed as a new viewpoint in recent years. Memory decline and social functional impairment are common manifestations of accelerated aging in PD. The function of telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) and telomere length (TL) is abnormal in patients with aging and PD. However, the molecular mechanism behind remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between TERT gene expression (including DNA methylation) and the changes in PD aging characteristics (memory and social function). By TERT gene knockout mice, we found that loss of TERT attenuated the acquisition of recent fear memory during contextual fear conditioning. This study reported that a significantly lower methylation level of human TERT (hTERT) gene was detected in PD patients compared with healthy control and particularly decreased CpG methylation in the promoter region of hTERT was associated with the clinical characteristics in PD. Regional homogeneity (ReHo) analysis showed that the methylation of hTERT (cg1295648) influenced social function of PD patients through moderating the function of the left postcentral gyrus (PCG). This indicates that the hTERT gene may play an important role in the pathological basis of PD aging and may become a biological marker for evaluating PD aging. These findings provide multidimensional evidence for the underlying genetic and pathological mechanisms of PD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huachen Ding
- Nanjing Brain Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
- Functional Brain Imaging Institute of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Yuan Zhong
- School of Psychology, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, China
| | - Na Liu
- Nanjing Brain Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Institute of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Huiqin Wu
- Nanjing Brain Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
- Functional Brain Imaging Institute of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Huazhen Xu
- Nanjing Brain Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
- Functional Brain Imaging Institute of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Yun Wu
- Nanjing Brain Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
- Functional Brain Imaging Institute of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
- School of Psychology, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, China
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Institute of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Gang Liu
- Nanjing Brain Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
- Functional Brain Imaging Institute of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Institute of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Shiting Yuan
- Nanjing Brain Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
- Functional Brain Imaging Institute of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Qigang Zhou
- Department of Clinical Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
- Qigang Zhou,
| | - Chun Wang
- Nanjing Brain Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
- Functional Brain Imaging Institute of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
- School of Psychology, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, China
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Institute of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
- *Correspondence: Chun Wang,
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Ogundele OM, Lee CC. CaMKIIα expression in a mouse model of NMDAR hypofunction schizophrenia: Putative roles for IGF-1R and TLR4. Brain Res Bull 2018; 137:53-70. [PMID: 29137928 PMCID: PMC5835406 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainresbull.2017.11.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2017] [Revised: 11/03/2017] [Accepted: 11/08/2017] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Schizophrenia (SCZ) is a neuropsychiatric disorder that is linked to social behavioral deficits and other negative symptoms associated with hippocampal synaptic dysfunction. Synaptic mechanism of schizophrenia is characterized by loss of hippocampal N-Methyl-d-Aspartate Receptor (NMDAR) activity (NMDAR hypofunction) and dendritic spines. Previous studies show that genetic deletion of hippocampal synaptic regulatory calcium-calmodulin dependent kinase II alpha (CaMKIIα) cause synaptic and behavioral defects associated with schizophrenia in mice. Although CaMKIIα is involved in modulation of NMDAR activity, it is equally linked to inflammatory and neurotropin signaling in neurons. Based on these propositions, we speculate that non-neurotransmitter upstream receptors associated with neurotropic and inflammatory signaling activities of CaMKIIα may alter its synaptic function. Besides, how these receptors (i.e. inflammatory and neurotropic receptors) alter CaMKIIα function (phosphorylation) relative to hippocampal NMDAR activity in schizophrenia is poorly understood. Here, we examined the relationship between toll-like receptor (TLR4; inflammatory), insulin-like growth factor receptor 1 (IGF-1R; neurotropic) and CaMKIIα expression in the hippocampus of behaviorally deficient schizophrenic mice after we induced schizophrenia through NMDAR inhibition. Schizophrenia was induced in WT (C57BL/6) mice through intraperitoneal administration of 30mg/Kg ketamine (NMDAR antagonist) for 5days (WT/SCZ). Five days after the last ketamine treatment, wild type schizophrenic mice show deficiencies in sociability and social novelty behavior. Furthermore, there was a significant decrease in hippocampal CaMKIIα (p<0.001) and IGF-1R (p<0.001) expression when assessed through immunoblotting and confocal immunofluorescence microscopy. Additionally, WT schizophrenic mice show an increased percentage of phosphorylated CaMKIIα in addition to upregulated TLR4 signaling (TLR4, NF-κB, and MAPK/ErK) in the hippocampus. To ascertain the functional link between TLR4, IGF-1R and CaMKIIα relative to NMDAR hypofunction in schizophrenia, we created hippocampal-specific TLR4 knockdown mouse using AAV-driven Cre-lox technique (TLR4 KD). Subsequently, we inhibited NMDAR function in TLR4 KD mice in an attempt to induce schizophrenia (TLR4 KD SCZ). Interestingly, IGF-1R and CaMKIIα expressions were preserved in the TLR4 KD hippocampus after attenuation of NMDAR function. Furthermore, TLR4 KD SCZ mice showed no prominent defects in sociability and social novelty behavior when compared with the control (WT). Our results show that a sustained IGF-1R expression may preserve the synaptic activity of CaMKIIα while TLR4 signaling ablates hippocampal CaMKIIα expression in NMDAR hypofunction schizophrenia. Together, we infer that IGF-1R depletion and increased TLR4 signaling are non-neurotransmitter pro-schizophrenic cues that can reduce synaptic CaMKIIα activity in a pharmacologic mouse model of schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- O M Ogundele
- Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences, Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine, Baton Rouge, LA, United States.
| | - C C Lee
- Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences, Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine, Baton Rouge, LA, United States.
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