Kong Li, Herold Christina J, Cheung Eric F C, Chan Raymond C K, Schröder Johannes
College of Education, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, China.
Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Schizophr Bull. 2020 Apr 10;46(3):562-571. doi: 10.1093/schbul/sbz118.
Neurological soft signs (NSS) are often found in patients with schizophrenia. A wealth of neuroimaging studies have reported that NSS are related to disturbed cortical-subcortical-cerebellar circuitry in schizophrenia. However, the association between NSS and brain network abnormalities in patients with schizophrenia remains unclear. In this study, the graph theoretical approach was used to analyze brain network characteristics based on structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data. NSS were assessed using the Heidelberg scale. We found that there was no significant difference in global network properties between individuals with high and low levels of NSS. Regional network analysis showed that NSS were associated with betweenness centrality involving the inferior orbital frontal cortex, the middle temporal cortex, the hippocampus, the supramarginal cortex, the amygdala, and the cerebellum. Global network analysis also demonstrated that NSS were associated with the distribution of network hubs involving the superior medial frontal cortex, the superior and middle temporal cortices, the postcentral cortex, the amygdala, and the cerebellum. Our findings suggest that NSS are associated with alterations in topological attributes of brain networks corresponding to the cortical-subcortical-cerebellum circuit in patients with schizophrenia, which may provide a new perspective for elucidating the neural basis of NSS in schizophrenia.
神经软体征（NSS）常在精神分裂症患者中出现。大量神经影像学研究报告称，NSS与精神分裂症中皮质-皮质下-小脑回路紊乱有关。然而，精神分裂症患者中NSS与脑网络异常之间的关联仍不明确。在本研究中，采用图论方法基于结构磁共振成像（MRI）数据分析脑网络特征。使用海德堡量表评估NSS。我们发现，NSS水平高和低的个体之间在全局网络属性上没有显著差异。区域网络分析表明，NSS与涉及眶额下回皮质、颞中皮质、海马体、缘上回皮质、杏仁核和小脑的中介中心性有关。全局网络分析还表明，NSS与涉及额上内侧皮质、颞上和颞中皮质、中央后皮质、杏仁核和小脑的网络枢纽分布有关。我们的研究结果表明，NSS与精神分裂症患者中对应于皮质-皮质下-小脑回路的脑网络拓扑属性改变有关，这可能为阐明精神分裂症中NSS的神经基础提供一个新视角。
