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Schizophr Bull. 2014 May;40(3):653-64. doi: 10.1093/schbul/sbt077. Epub 2013 Jun 18.
Cognitive dysfunction is a core feature of schizophrenia, and persons at risk for schizophrenia may show subtle deficits in attention and working memory. In this study, we investigated the relationship between integrity of functional brain networks and performance in attention and working memory tasks as well as schizophrenia risk.
A total of 235 adults representing 3 levels of risk (102 outpatients with schizophrenia, 70 unaffected first-degree relatives of persons with schizophrenia, and 63 unrelated healthy controls [HCs]) completed resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging and a battery of attention and working memory tasks (Brief Test of Attention, Hopkins Verbal Learning Test, and Brief Visuospatial Memory Test) on the same day. Functional networks were defined based on coupling with seeds in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC), and primary visual cortex. Networks were then dissected into regional clusters of connectivity that were used to generate individual interaction matrices representing functional connectivity within each network.
Both patients with schizophrenia and their first-degree relatives showed cognitive dysfunction compared with HCs. First canonicals indicated an inverse relationship between cognitive performance and connectivity within the DLPFC and MPFC networks. Multivariate analysis of variance revealed multivariate main effects of higher schizophrenia risk status on increased connectivity within the DLPFC and MPFC networks.
These data suggest that excessive connectivity within brain networks coupled to the DLPFC and MPFC, respectively, accompany cognitive deficits in persons at risk for schizophrenia. This might reflect compensatory reactions in neural systems required for cognitive processing of attention and working memory tasks to brain changes associated with schizophrenia.
认知功能障碍是精神分裂症的核心特征，精神分裂症高危人群可能在注意力和工作记忆方面表现出细微缺陷。本研究旨在探讨功能脑网络完整性与注意力和工作记忆任务表现以及精神分裂症风险之间的关系。
共有 235 名成年人参与了本研究，代表了 3 个风险水平（102 名精神分裂症门诊患者、70 名未受影响的精神分裂症患者一级亲属和 63 名无关的健康对照者[HCs]），他们在同一天完成了静息态功能磁共振成像和一系列注意力和工作记忆任务（Brief Test of Attention、Hopkins 言语学习测试和 Brief Visuospatial Memory Test）。功能网络是基于与背侧前扣带回、背外侧前额叶皮层（DLPFC）、内侧前额叶皮层（MPFC）和初级视觉皮层种子的耦合来定义的。然后将网络分解为连接性的区域聚类，用于生成代表每个网络内功能连接的个体交互矩阵。
精神分裂症患者和他们的一级亲属均表现出认知功能障碍，与 HCs 相比。第一典范表明认知表现与 DLPFC 和 MPFC 网络内的连接呈负相关。多变量方差分析显示，较高的精神分裂症风险状态对 DLPFC 和 MPFC 网络内的连接有多元主效应。
这些数据表明，与 DLPFC 和 MPFC 分别耦合的脑网络内的过度连接伴随着精神分裂症高危人群的认知缺陷。这可能反映了与精神分裂症相关的大脑变化所需的认知处理注意力和工作记忆任务的神经系统的代偿反应。
