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A broken filter: prefrontal functional connectivity abnormalities in schizophrenia during working memory interference.

ABSTRACT: Characterizing working memory (WM) abnormalities represents a fundamental challenge in schizophrenia research given the impact of cognitive deficits on life outcome in patients. In prior work we demonstrated that dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) activation was related to successful distracter resistance during WM in healthy controls, but not in schizophrenia. Although understanding the impact of regional functional deficits is critical, functional connectivity abnormalities among nodes within WM networks may constitute a final common pathway for WM impairment. Therefore, this study tested the hypothesis that schizophrenia is associated with functional connectivity abnormalities within DLPFC networks during distraction conditions in WM. 28 patients and 24 controls completed a delayed non-verbal WM task that included transient visual distraction during the WM maintenance phase. We computed DLPFC whole-brain task-based functional connectivity (tb-fcMRI) specifically during the maintenance phase in the presence or absence of distraction. Results revealed that patients failed to modulate tb-fcMRI during distracter presentation in both cortical and sub-cortical regions. Specifically, controls demonstrated reductions in tb-fcMRI between DLPFC and the extended amygdala when distraction was present. Conversely, patients failed to demonstrate a change in coupling with the amygdala, but showed greater connectivity with medio-dorsal thalamus. While controls showed more positive coupling between DLPFC and other prefrontal cortical regions during distracter presentation, patients failed to exhibit such a modulation. Taken together, these findings support the notion that observed distracter resistance deficit involves a breakdown in coupling between DLPFC and distributed regions, encompassing both subcortical (thalamic/limbic) and control region connectivity.

SUBMITTER: Anticevic A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3879404 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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A broken filter: prefrontal functional connectivity abnormalities in schizophrenia during working memory interference.

Anticevic Alan A Repovs Grega G Krystal John H JH Barch Deanna M DM

Schizophrenia research 20120803 1

Characterizing working memory (WM) abnormalities represents a fundamental challenge in schizophrenia research given the impact of cognitive deficits on life outcome in patients. In prior work we demonstrated that dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) activation was related to successful distracter resistance during WM in healthy controls, but not in schizophrenia. Although understanding the impact of regional functional deficits is critical, functional connectivity abnormalities among nodes wit ...[more]

PMID: 22863548

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Project description:ObjectiveWorking memory (WM) deficits are consistently reported in schizophrenia and are related to poor functional outcomes. Functional magnetic resonance imaging studies of adult-onset schizophrenia have reported decreased functional activations and connectivity in the WM network, but no prior functional magnetic resonance imaging study has examined WM in childhood-onset schizophrenia (COS). The aim of this study was to examine the neural correlates of WM in COS.MethodAdult patients with COS (n = 32, 21.3 ± 1.1 years), nonpsychotic siblings of patients with COS (n = 30, 19.4 ± 0.8 years), and healthy controls (n = 39, 20.0 ± 0.7 years) completed 1- and 2-back WM tasks during 3-T functional magnetic resonance imaging. Functional activation and connectivity analyses were conducted. A separate group of 23 younger patients with COS (17.9 ± 7.4 years) could not perform the tasks after twice completing a standard training and are not included in this report.ResultsPatients with COS who were included scored significantly lower than controls on all tasks (p < .001). Patients with COS showed significantly lower activations in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortices, posterior parietal cortices, cerebellum, and caudate and decreased frontoparietal and corticostriatal functional connectivity compared with controls (p < .05, corrected). Siblings had functional activations and connectivity intermediate between those of patients and controls in a similar set of regions (p < .05, corrected). In patients, functional connectivity strength in the left frontoparietal network correlated positively with accuracy scores during the 1-back task (p = .0023, corrected).ConclusionDecreased functional activation and connectivity in the WM network in COS supports pathophysiologic continuity with adult-onset schizophrenia. The low participation rate and accuracy of the patients highlights the disease severity of COS. Hypo-activations and hypo-connectivity were shared by siblings of patients with COS, suggesting COS as a potential endophenotype.Clinical trial registration informationEvaluating Genetic Risk Factors for Childhood-Onset Schizophrenia; http://ClinicalTrials.gov;NCT00001198.

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A broken filter: prefrontal functional connectivity abnormalities in schizophrenia during working memory interference.

Publications

A broken filter: prefrontal functional connectivity abnormalities in schizophrenia during working memory interference.

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