Department of Clinical Neuropsychiatry, Medical University of Lublin, Lublin, Poland.
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Lublin University of Technology, Lublin, Poland.
Sci Rep. 2019 Jul 3;9(1):9594. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-46111-0.
Introducing the Minimum Spanning Tree (MST) algorithms to neural networks science eliminated the problem of arbitrary setting of the threshold for connectivity strength. Despite these advantages, MST has been rarely used to study network abnormalities in schizophrenia. An MST graph mapping a network structure is its simplification, therefore, it is important to verify whether the reconfigured network is significantly related to the behavioural dimensions of the clinical picture of schizophrenia. 35 first-episode schizophrenia patients and 35 matched healthy controls underwent an assessment of information processing speed, cognitive inter-trial variability modelled with ex-Gaussian distributional analysis of reaction times and resting-state EEG recordings to obtain frequency-specific functional connectivity matrices from which MST graphs were computed. The patients' network had a more random structure and star-like arrangement with overloaded hubs positioned more posteriorly than it was in the case of the control group. Deficient processing speed in the group of patients was predicted by increased maximal betweenness centrality in beta and gamma bands, while decreased consistency in cognitive processing was predicted by the betweenness centrality of posterior nodes in the gamma band, together with duration of illness. The betweenness centrality of posterior nodes in the gamma band was also significantly correlated with positive psychotic symptoms in the clinical group.
将最小生成树 (MST) 算法引入神经网络科学，消除了连接强度阈值任意设置的问题。尽管有这些优势，但 MST 很少被用于研究精神分裂症中的网络异常。MST 图映射网络结构是其简化，因此，验证重新配置的网络与精神分裂症临床特征的行为维度是否显著相关非常重要。35 名首发精神分裂症患者和 35 名匹配的健康对照者接受了信息处理速度评估、使用反应时的 Ex-Gaussian 分布分析建模的认知试验间变异性以及静息状态 EEG 记录，以获得 MST 图计算的频域特定功能连接矩阵。与对照组相比，患者的网络具有更随机的结构和星状排列，超载的枢纽位于更靠后的位置。患者组处理速度不足的原因是β和γ频段的最大介数中心性增加，而认知处理的一致性降低则是由于γ频段后节点的介数中心性以及疾病持续时间的原因。γ 频段后节点的介数中心性也与临床组的阳性精神病症状显著相关。
