Mental Health Institute of the Second Xiangya Hospital, Key Laboratory of Psychiatry and Mental Health of Hunan Province, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410011, China; College of Health Sciences, University of Dodoma, P.O Box 395, Dodoma, Tanzania.
Schizophr Res. 2013 Oct;150(1):144-50. doi: 10.1016/j.schres.2013.07.018. Epub 2013 Aug 3.
Previous studies imply that interhemispheric disconnectivity plays a more important role on information processing in schizophrenia. However, the role of the aberrant interhemispheric connection in the pathophysiology of this disorder remains unclear. Recently, resting-state functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) has reported to have potentials of mapping functional interactions between pairs of brain hemispheres.
Resting-state whole-brain functional connectivity analyses were performed on 41 schizophrenia patients and 33 healthy controls.
The first-episode schizophrenia patients showed significant aberrant interhemispheric connection in the globus pallidus, medial frontal gyrus and inferior temporal gyrus. The correlation of Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale scores with odds ratio of the aberrant interhemispheric connections revealed positive correlation in the pallidum (rho=0.335, p=.003) and medial frontal gyrus (rho=0.260, p=.025). The connection in the pallidum was also positively correlated with duration of illness (rho=-0.407, p=.009). Whereas, the aberrant interhemispheric connection in the inferior temporal gyrus was positively correlated with scores of Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms (rho=0.393, p=.012).
The present study provides fMRI evidence for the aberrant interhemispheric resting-state functional connectivity within resting-state networks in first-episode schizophrenia patients. These aberrant interhemispheric connections, in particular the pallidum, due to its anatomical and functional connectivities, may be the primary disturbance for cognitive impairment, negative symptoms and chronicity of schizophrenia.
先前的研究表明，大脑两半球间的连接中断在精神分裂症的信息处理中起着更为重要的作用。然而，这种障碍的病理生理学中异常的大脑两半球间连接的作用仍不清楚。最近，静息态功能磁共振成像（fMRI）已被报道具有描绘大脑两半球之间功能相互作用的潜力。
对 41 例首发精神分裂症患者和 33 例健康对照者进行静息态全脑功能连接分析。
首发精神分裂症患者的苍白球、内侧额回和颞下回存在明显的大脑两半球间连接异常。韦氏成人智力量表评分与大脑两半球间连接异常比值的相关分析显示，苍白球（rho=0.335，p=.003）和内侧额回（rho=0.260，p=.025）的连接与评分呈正相关。苍白球的连接也与病程呈正相关（rho=-0.407，p=.009）。而颞下回的大脑两半球间连接异常与阴性症状评定量表评分呈正相关（rho=0.393，p=.012）。
本研究为首发精神分裂症患者静息态网络内大脑两半球间静息态功能连接异常提供了 fMRI 证据。这些异常的大脑两半球间连接，特别是苍白球，由于其解剖和功能连接，可能是认知障碍、阴性症状和精神分裂症慢性化的主要障碍。
