Guo Wenbin, Liu Feng, Zhang Zhikun, Liu Guiying, Liu Jianrong, Yu Liuyu, Xiao Changqing, Zhao Jingping
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;
Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan 610054, China;
Schizophr Bull. 2015 Nov;41(6):1317-25. doi: 10.1093/schbul/sbv062. Epub 2015 May 7.
The default-mode network (DMN) is vital in the neurobiology of schizophrenia, and the cerebellum participates in the high-order cognitive network such as the DMN. However, the specific contribution of the cerebellum to the DMN abnormalities remains unclear in unaffected siblings of schizophrenia patients. Forty-six unaffected siblings of schizophrenia patients and 46 healthy controls were recruited for a resting-state scan. The images were analyzed using the functional connectivity (FC) method. The siblings showed significantly increased FCs between the left Crus I and the left superior medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC), as well as between the lobule IX and the bilateral MPFC (orbital part) and right superior MPFC compared with the controls. No significantly decreased FC was observed in the siblings relative to the controls. The analyses were replicated in 49 first-episode, drug-naive patients with schizophrenia, and the results showed that the siblings and the patients shared increased FCs between the left Crus I and the left superior MPFC, as well as between the lobule IX and the left MPFC (orbital part) compared with the controls. These findings suggest that increased cerebellar-DMN connectivities emerge earlier than illness onset, which highlight the contribution of the cerebellum to the DMN alterations in unaffected siblings. The shared increased cerebellar-DMN connectivities between the patients and the siblings may be used as candidate endophenotypes for schizophrenia.
默认模式网络（DMN）在精神分裂症的神经生物学中至关重要，且小脑参与诸如DMN等高阶认知网络。然而，在精神分裂症患者未患病的同胞中，小脑对DMN异常的具体作用仍不清楚。招募了46名精神分裂症患者的未患病同胞和46名健康对照进行静息态扫描。使用功能连接（FC）方法对图像进行分析。与对照组相比，同胞在左侧小脑脚I与左侧额内侧前额叶皮质（MPFC）之间，以及小叶IX与双侧MPFC（眶部）和右侧额上MPFC之间的FC显著增加。相对于对照组，未观察到同胞的FC有显著降低。在49名首发、未用药的精神分裂症患者中重复了上述分析，结果显示，与对照组相比，同胞和患者在左侧小脑脚I与左侧额上MPFC之间，以及小叶IX与左侧MPFC（眶部）之间均存在增加的FC。这些发现表明，小脑-DMN连接性增加早于疾病发作，这突出了小脑对未患病同胞中DMN改变的作用。患者和同胞之间共享的增加的小脑-DMN连接性可能被用作精神分裂症的候选内表型。
