Cao Xiaohua, Li Qiang, Liu Sha, Li Zexuan, Wang Yanfang, Cheng Long, Yang Chengxiang, Xu Yong
Department of Psychiatry, First Hospital/First Clinical Medical College of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China.
Shanxi Provincial Corps Hospital of Chinese People's Armed Police Force, Taiyuan, China.
Front Neurosci. 2022 Mar 25;16:844519. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2022.844519. eCollection 2022.
There is abundant evidence that early onset schizophrenia (EOS) is associated with abnormalities in widespread regions, including the cortical, striatal, and limbic areas. As a main component of the ventral striatum, the nucleus accumbens (NAc) is implicated in the pathology of schizophrenia. However, functional connection patterns of NAc in patients with schizophrenia, especially EOS, are seldom explored. A total of 78 first-episode, medication-naïve patients with EOS and 90 healthy controls were recruited in the present study, and resting-state, seed-based functional connectivity (FC) analyses were performed to investigate temporal correlations between NAc and the rest of the brain in the two groups. Additionally, correlation analyses were done between regions showing group differences in NAc functional integration and clinical features of EOS. Group comparison found enhanced FC of the NAc in the EOS group relative to the HCs with increased FC in the right superior temporal gyrus and left superior parietal gyrus with the left NAc region of interest (ROI) and elevated FC in left middle occipital gyrus with the right NAc ROI. No significant associations were found between FC strength and symptom severity as well as the age of the patients. Our findings reveal abnormally enhanced FC of the NAc with regions located in the temporal, parietal, and occipital areas, which were implicated in auditory/visual processing, sensorimotor integration, and cognitive functions. The results suggest disturbed relationships between regions subserving reward, salience processing, and regions subserving sensory processing as well as cognitive functions, which may deepen our understanding of the role of NAc in the pathology of EOS.
有充分证据表明，早发性精神分裂症（EOS）与广泛区域的异常有关，包括皮质、纹状体和边缘区域。作为腹侧纹状体的主要组成部分，伏隔核（NAc）与精神分裂症的病理过程有关。然而，很少有人探究精神分裂症患者，尤其是EOS患者中NAc的功能连接模式。本研究共招募了78例首次发作、未服用过药物的EOS患者和90名健康对照者，并进行了静息态、基于种子点的功能连接（FC）分析，以研究两组中NAc与大脑其他区域之间的时间相关性。此外，还对在NAc功能整合方面表现出组间差异的区域与EOS的临床特征进行了相关性分析。组间比较发现，与健康对照者相比，EOS组中NAc的FC增强，左侧NAc感兴趣区（ROI）与右侧颞上回和左侧顶上小叶的FC增加，右侧NAc ROI与左侧枕中回的FC升高。未发现FC强度与症状严重程度以及患者年龄之间存在显著关联。我们的研究结果揭示了NAc与颞叶、顶叶和枕叶区域的FC异常增强，这些区域与听觉/视觉处理、感觉运动整合和认知功能有关。结果表明，在负责奖赏、显著性处理的区域与负责感觉处理及认知功能的区域之间的关系受到干扰，这可能会加深我们对NAc在EOS病理过程中作用的理解。
