Neuronal dysfunction in individuals at early stage of schizophrenia, A resting-state fMRI study

Xiaoqian Ma; Winson Fu Zun Yang; Wenxiao Zheng; Zongchang Li; Jinsong Tang; Liu Yuan; Lijun Ouyang; Yujue Wang; Chunwang Li; Ke Jin; Lingyan Wang; Carrie E Bearden; Ying He; Xiaogang Chen

doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2023.115123

Neuronal dysfunction in individuals at early stage of schizophrenia, A resting-state fMRI study

Psychiatry Res. 2023 Apr:322:115123. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2023.115123. Epub 2023 Feb 20.

Authors

Xiaoqian Ma¹, Winson Fu Zun Yang², Wenxiao Zheng³, Zongchang Li⁴, Jinsong Tang⁴, Liu Yuan⁴, Lijun Ouyang⁴, Yujue Wang⁴, Chunwang Li⁵, Ke Jin⁵, Lingyan Wang⁶, Carrie E Bearden⁷, Ying He⁸, Xiaogang Chen⁹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychiatry, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, No.139, Renmin Rd, Second Xiangya Hospital, Changsha, Hunan, China; Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, United States.
² Department of Psychological Sciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, United States.
³ Department of Psychiatry, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, No.139, Renmin Rd, Second Xiangya Hospital, Changsha, Hunan, China; Department of Clinical Medicine, Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China.
⁴ Department of Psychiatry, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, No.139, Renmin Rd, Second Xiangya Hospital, Changsha, Hunan, China.
⁵ Department of Radiology, Hunan Children's Hospital, Changsha, China.
⁶ Department of Deratology&Traditional Chinese Medicine, Changsha Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine (Changsha Eighth Hospital).
⁷ Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, United States.
⁸ Department of Psychiatry, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, No.139, Renmin Rd, Second Xiangya Hospital, Changsha, Hunan, China; Mental Health Institute of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China; National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, Changsha, Hunan, China; National Technology Institute of Mental Disorders, Changsha, Hunan, China; Hunan Key Laboratory of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Changsha, Hunan, China; Hunan Medical Center for Mental Health, Changsha, Hunan, China. Electronic address: yinghe@csu.edu.cn.
⁹ Department of Psychiatry, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, No.139, Renmin Rd, Second Xiangya Hospital, Changsha, Hunan, China; Mental Health Institute of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China; National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, Changsha, Hunan, China; National Technology Institute of Mental Disorders, Changsha, Hunan, China; Hunan Key Laboratory of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Changsha, Hunan, China; Hunan Medical Center for Mental Health, Changsha, Hunan, China. Electronic address: chenxiaogang@csu.edu.cn.

PMID: 36827856
DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2023.115123

Abstract

Schizophrenia has been associated with abnormal intrinsic brain activity, involving various cognitive impairments. Qualitatively similar abnormalities are seen in individuals at ultra-high risk (UHR) for psychosis. In this study, resting-state fMRI (rs-fMRI) data were collected from 44 drug-naïve first-episode schizophrenia (Dn-FES) patients, 48 UHR individuals, and 40 healthy controls (HCs). The fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (fALFF), regional homogeneity (ReHo), and functional connectivity (FC), were performed to evaluate resting brain function. A support vector machine (SVM) was applied for classification analysis. Compared to HCs, both clinical groups showed increased fALFF in the central executive network (CEN), decreased ReHo in the ventral visual pathway (VVP) and decreased FC in temporal-sensorimotor regions. Excellent performance was achieved by using fALFF value in distinguishing both FES (sensitivity=83.21%, specificity=80.58%, accuracy=81.37%, p=0.009) and UHR (sensitivity=75.88%, specificity=85.72%, accuracy=80.72%, p<0.001) from HC group. Moreover, the study highlighted the importance of frontal and temporal alteration in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. However, no fMRI features were observed that could well distinguish Dn-FES from UHR group. To conclude, fALFF in the CEN may provide potential power for identifying individuals at the early stage of schizophrenia and the alteration in the frontal and temporal lobe may be important to these individuals.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03965598.

Keywords: Resting-state; Schizophrenia; Support vector machine; Ultra-high risk.

Publication types

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

MeSH terms

Brain
Brain Mapping
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Psychotic Disorders*
Schizophrenia*
Temporal Lobe

Associated data

ClinicalTrials.gov/NCT03965598