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ABSTRACT: Background
The underlying neurobiological mechanism for abnormal functional connectivity in schizophrenia (SCZ) remains unknown. This project investigated whether glutamate and GABA, 2 metabolites that contribute to excitatory and inhibitory functions, may influence functional connectivity in SCZ.Methods
Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging and proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy were acquired from 58 SCZ patients and 61 healthy controls (HC). Seed-based connectivity maps were extracted between the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) spectroscopic voxel and all other brain voxels. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) spectra were processed to quantify glutamate and GABA levels. Regression analysis was performed to describe relationships between functional connectivity and glutamate and GABA levels.Results
Reduced ACC functional connectivity in SCZ was found in regions associated with several neural networks including the default mode network (DMN) compared to HC. In the HC, positive correlations were found between glutamate and both ACC-right inferior frontal gyrus functional connectivity and ACC-bilateral superior temporal gyrus functional connectivity. A negative correlation between GABA and ACC-left posterior cingulate functional connectivity was also observed in HC. These same relationships were not statistically significant in SCZ.Conclusions
The present investigation is one of the first studies to examine links between functional connectivity and glutamate and GABA levels in SCZ. Results indicate that glutamate and GABA play an important role in the functional connectivity modulation in the healthy brain. The absence of glutamate and GABA correlations in areas where SCZ showed significantly reduced functional connectivity may suggest that this chemical-functional relationship is disrupted in SCZ.
SUBMITTER: Shukla DK
PROVIDER: S-EPMC6483591 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Apr
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Shukla Dinesh K DK Wijtenburg S Andrea SA Chen Hongji H Chiappelli Joshua J JJ Kochunov Peter P Hong L Elliot LE Rowland Laura M LM
Schizophrenia bulletin 20190401 3
<h4>Background</h4>The underlying neurobiological mechanism for abnormal functional connectivity in schizophrenia (SCZ) remains unknown. This project investigated whether glutamate and GABA, 2 metabolites that contribute to excitatory and inhibitory functions, may influence functional connectivity in SCZ.<h4>Methods</h4>Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging and proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy were acquired from 58 SCZ patients and 61 healthy controls (HC). Seed-based connect ...[more]