Higher order thalamic nuclei resting network connectivity in early schizophrenia and major depressive disorder

Jacob Penner; Elizabeth A Osuch; Betsy Schaefer; Jean Théberge; Richard W J Neufeld; Ravi S Menon; Nagalingam Rajakumar; James A Bourne; Peter C Williamson

doi:10.1016/j.pscychresns.2017.12.002

Higher order thalamic nuclei resting network connectivity in early schizophrenia and major depressive disorder

Psychiatry Res Neuroimaging. 2018 Feb 28:272:7-16. doi: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2017.12.002. Epub 2017 Dec 8.

Authors

Jacob Penner¹, Elizabeth A Osuch², Betsy Schaefer³, Jean Théberge⁴, Richard W J Neufeld⁵, Ravi S Menon⁶, Nagalingam Rajakumar⁷, James A Bourne⁸, Peter C Williamson⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychiatry, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada; Imaging Division, Lawson Health Research Institute, London, Ontario, Canada; First Episode Mood & Anxiety Program (FEMAP), London Health Sciences Centre, London, Ontario, Canada. Electronic address: jpenner7@uwo.ca.
² Department of Psychiatry, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada; Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada; First Episode Mood & Anxiety Program (FEMAP), London Health Sciences Centre, London, Ontario, Canada.
³ Department of Psychiatry, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada.
⁴ Department of Psychiatry, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada; Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada; Imaging Division, Lawson Health Research Institute, London, Ontario, Canada.
⁵ Department of Psychiatry, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada; Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada; Department of Neuroscience Program, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada.
⁶ Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada; Centre for Functional and Metabolic Mapping, Robarts Research Institute, London, Ontario, Canada; Imaging Division, Lawson Health Research Institute, London, Ontario, Canada.
⁷ Department of Psychiatry, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada; Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada.
⁸ Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute, Monash University, Clayton, Australia.

PMID: 29247717
DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2017.12.002

Abstract

The pulvinar and the mediodorsal (MDN) nuclei of the thalamus are higher order nuclei which have been implicated in directed effort and corollary discharge systems. We used seed-based resting fMRI to examine functional connectivity to bilateral pulvinar and MDN in 24 schizophrenic patients (SZ), 24 major depressive disorder patients (MDD), and 24 age-matched healthy controls. SZ had less connectivity than controls between the left pulvinar and precuneus, left ventral-lateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC), and superior and medial-frontal regions, between the right pulvinar and right frontal pole, and greater connectivity between the right MDN and left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC). SZ had less connectivity than MDD between the left pulvinar and ventral anterior cingulate (vACC), left vlPFC, anterior insula, posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), and right hippocampus, between the right pulvinar and right PCC, and between the right MDN and right dorsal anterior cingulate (dACC). This is the first study to measure the functional connectivity to the higher order nuclei of the thalamus in both SZ and MDD. We observed less connectivity in SZ than MDD between pulvinar and emotional encoding regions, a directed effort region, and a region involved in representation and salience, and between MDN and a directed effort region.

Keywords: Depression; Directed effort network; Emotion encoding network; Functional connectivity; Mediodorsal nucleus; Pulvinar nuclei; Thalamus.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Depressive Disorder, Major / diagnostic imaging*
Depressive Disorder, Major / physiopathology
Depressive Disorder, Major / psychology
Early Diagnosis
Emotions / physiology
Female
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging / methods
Male
Nerve Net / diagnostic imaging*
Nerve Net / physiology
Rest* / physiology
Schizophrenia / diagnostic imaging*
Schizophrenia / physiopathology
Schizophrenic Psychology
Thalamic Nuclei / diagnostic imaging*
Thalamic Nuclei / physiology
Young Adult

Grants and funding

12078/Canadian Institutes of Health Research/International