Department of Neuropsychiatry, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Schizophr Bull. 2023 Mar 15;49(2):375-384. doi: 10.1093/schbul/sbac174.
Aberrant thalamocortical connectivity and large-scale network interactions among the default mode network (DMN), salience network (SN), and executive control network (ECN) (ie, triple networks) have been regarded as critical in schizophrenia pathophysiology. Despite the importance of network properties and the role of the thalamus as an integrative hub, large-scale thalamocortical triple network functional connectivities (FCs) in different stages of the psychotic disorder have not yet been reported.
Thirty-nine first-episode psychosis (FEP) patients, 75 individuals at clinical high risk (CHR) for psychosis, 46 unaffected relatives (URs) of schizophrenia patients with high genetic loading, and 110 healthy controls (HCs) underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI). Modular community detection was used to identify cortical and thalamic resting-state networks, and thalamocortical network interactions were compared across the groups.
Thalamic triple networks included higher-order thalamic nuclei. Thalamic SN-cortical ECN FC was greater in the FEP group than in the CHR, UR, and HC groups. Thalamic DMN-cortical DMN and thalamic SN-cortical DMN FCs were greater in FEP and CHR participants. Thalamic ECN-cortical DMN and thalamic ECN-cortical SN FCs were greater in FEP patients and URs.
These results highlight critical modulatory functions of thalamic triple networks and the shared and distinct patterns of thalamocortical triple network dysconnectivities across different stages of psychotic disorders. The current study findings suggest that large-scale thalamocortical triple network dysconnectivities may be used as an integrative biomarker for extending our understanding of the psychosis pathophysiology and for targeting network-based neuromodulation therapeutics.
异常的丘脑-皮质连接以及默认模式网络（DMN）、突显网络（SN）和执行控制网络（ECN）之间的大规模网络相互作用（即三网络）被认为是精神分裂症病理生理学中的关键因素。尽管网络属性的重要性以及丘脑作为整合中枢的作用很重要，但在精神病障碍的不同阶段，尚未报道大规模的丘脑-皮质三网络功能连接（FC）。
39 名首发精神分裂症（FEP）患者、75 名精神病高危（CHR）个体、46 名有高遗传负荷的精神分裂症患者未受影响的亲属（URs）和 110 名健康对照（HCs）接受了静息态功能磁共振成像（rs-fMRI）检查。采用模块化社区检测方法识别皮质和丘脑静息态网络，并比较了各组之间的丘脑皮质网络相互作用。
丘脑三网络包括高级丘脑核。FEP 组的丘脑 SN-皮质 ECN FC 大于 CHR、UR 和 HC 组。FEP 和 CHR 参与者的丘脑 DMN-皮质 DMN 和丘脑 SN-皮质 DMN FC 更高。FEP 患者和 URs 的丘脑 ECN-皮质 DMN 和丘脑 ECN-皮质 SN FC 更高。
这些结果突出了丘脑三网络的关键调节功能以及在不同精神病障碍阶段丘脑皮质三网络连接障碍的共享和独特模式。目前的研究结果表明，大规模的丘脑皮质三网络连接障碍可能作为一种综合生物标志物，用于扩展我们对精神病病理生理学的理解，并针对基于网络的神经调节治疗。
