3 results
Compressed sensorimotor-to-transmodal hierarchical organization in schizophrenia
- Debo Dong, Dezhong Yao, Yulin Wang, Seok-Jun Hong, Sarah Genon, Fei Xin, Kyesam Jung, Hui He, Xuebin Chang, Mingjun Duan, Boris C. Bernhardt, Daniel S. Margulies, Jorge Sepulcre, Simon B. Eickhoff, Cheng Luo
-
- Journal:
- Psychological Medicine / Volume 53 / Issue 3 / February 2023
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 08 June 2021, pp. 771-784
-
- Article
- Export citation
-
Background
Schizophrenia has been primarily conceptualized as a disorder of high-order cognitive functions with deficits in executive brain regions. Yet due to the increasing reports of early sensory processing deficit, recent models focus more on the developmental effects of impaired sensory process on high-order functions. The present study examined whether this pathological interaction relates to an overarching system-level imbalance, specifically a disruption in macroscale hierarchy affecting integration and segregation of unimodal and transmodal networks.
MethodsWe applied a novel combination of connectome gradient and stepwise connectivity analysis to resting-state fMRI to characterize the sensorimotor-to-transmodal cortical hierarchy organization (96 patients v. 122 controls).
ResultsWe demonstrated compression of the cortical hierarchy organization in schizophrenia, with a prominent compression from the sensorimotor region and a less prominent compression from the frontal−parietal region, resulting in a diminished separation between sensory and fronto-parietal cognitive systems. Further analyses suggested reduced differentiation related to atypical functional connectome transition from unimodal to transmodal brain areas. Specifically, we found hypo-connectivity within unimodal regions and hyper-connectivity between unimodal regions and fronto-parietal and ventral attention regions along the classical sensation-to-cognition continuum (voxel-level corrected, p < 0.05).
ConclusionsThe compression of cortical hierarchy organization represents a novel and integrative system-level substrate underlying the pathological interaction of early sensory and cognitive function in schizophrenia. This abnormal cortical hierarchy organization suggests cascading impairments from the disruption of the somatosensory−motor system and inefficient integration of bottom-up sensory information with attentional demands and executive control processes partially account for high-level cognitive deficits characteristic of schizophrenia.
Meta-analysis of aberrant brain activity in psychopathy
- T. Poeppl, M. Donges, R. Rupprecht, P. Fox, A. Laird, D. Bzdok, B. Langguth, S. Eickhoff
-
- Journal:
- European Psychiatry / Volume 41 / Issue S1 / April 2017
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 23 March 2020, p. S349
-
- Article
-
- You have access Access
- HTML
- Export citation
-
Introduction
Psychopathy is characterized by superficial charm, untruthfulness, lack of remorse, antisocial behavior, egocentricity as well as poverty in major affective reactions. This clinical profile has been empirically conceptualized and validated. Recent brain imaging studies suggest abnormal brain activity underlying psychopathic behavior. However, no reliable pattern of altered neural activity has been disclosed so far.
ObjectiveTo identify consistent changes of brain activity in psychopaths and to investigate whether these could explain known psychopathology.
MethodsFirst, we used activation likelihood estimation to meta-analyze brain activation changes in psychopaths across 28 functional magnetic resonance imaging studies reporting 753 foci from 155 analyses (P < 0.05, corrected). Second, we functionally characterized the ensuing regions employing meta-data of a large-scale neuroimaging database (P < 0.05, corrected).
ResultsPsychopathy was consistently associated with decreased brain activity in the right amygdala, the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (DMPFC), and bilaterally in the lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC). Consistently increased activity was observed bilaterally in the fronto-insular cortex (FIC) (Fig. 1). Moreover, we found that the physiological functional role of the candidate regions related to social cognition (DMFPC), cognitive speech and semantic processing (left FIC/LPFC), emotional and cognitive reward processing (right amygdala/FIC) as well as somesthesis and executive functions (RLPFC).
ConclusionPsychopathy is characterized by abnormal brain activity of bilateral prefrontal cortices and the right amygdala, which mediate psychological functions known to be impaired in psychopaths. Hence, aberrant neural activity can account for pertinent psychopathology in psychopathy.
Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.
Aberrant resting-state connectivity in non-psychotic individuals with auditory hallucinations
- K. M. J. Diederen, S. F. W. Neggers, A. D. de Weijer, R. van Lutterveld, K. Daalman, S. B. Eickhoff, M. Clos, R. S. Kahn, I. E. C. Sommer
-
- Journal:
- Psychological Medicine / Volume 43 / Issue 8 / August 2013
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 16 November 2012, pp. 1685-1696
-
- Article
- Export citation
-
Background
Although auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH) are a core symptom of schizophrenia, they also occur in non-psychotic individuals, in the absence of other psychotic, affective, cognitive and negative symptoms. AVH have been hypothesized to result from deviant integration of inferior frontal, parahippocampal and superior temporal brain areas. However, a direct link between dysfunctional connectivity and AVH has not yet been established. To determine whether hallucinations are indeed related to aberrant connectivity, AVH should be studied in isolation, for example in non-psychotic individuals with AVH.
MethodResting-state connectivity was investigated in 25 non-psychotic subjects with AVH and 25 matched control subjects using seed regression analysis with the (1) left and (2) right inferior frontal, (3) left and (4) right superior temporal and (5) left parahippocampal areas as the seed regions. To correct for cardiorespiratory (CR) pulsatility rhythms in the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data, heartbeat and respiration were monitored during scanning and the fMRI data were corrected for these rhythms using the image-based method for retrospective correction of physiological motion effects RETROICOR.
ResultsIn comparison with the control group, non-psychotic individuals with AVH showed increased connectivity between the left and the right superior temporal regions and also between the left parahippocampal region and the left inferior frontal gyrus. Moreover, this group did not show a negative correlation between the left superior temporal region and the right inferior frontal region, as was observed in the healthy control group.
ConclusionsAberrant connectivity of frontal, parahippocampal and superior temporal brain areas can be specifically related to the predisposition to hallucinate in the auditory domain.