Zhang Kun, Jin Xingyue, He Yuqiong, Wu Shuxian, Cui Xilong, Gao Xueping, Huang Chunxiang, Luo Xuerong
Department of Psychiatry, and National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
Front Psychiatry. 2023 Mar 8;14:1126131. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1126131. eCollection 2023.
Frontotemporal cortex dysfunction has been found to be associated with cognitive impairment in patients with schizophrenia (SCZ). In patients with adolescent-onset SCZ, a more serious type of SCZ with poorer functional outcome, cognitive impairment appeared to occur at an early stage of the disease. However, the characteristics of frontotemporal cortex involvement in adolescent patients with cognitive impairment are still unclear. In the present study, we aimed to illustrate the frontotemporal hemodynamic response during a cognitive task in adolescents with first-episode SCZ.
Adolescents with first-episode SCZ who were aged 12-17 and demographically matched healthy controls (HCs) were recruited. We used a 48-channel functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) system to record the concentration of oxygenated hemoglobin (oxy-Hb) in the participants' frontotemporal area during a verbal fluency task (VFT) and analyzed its correlation with clinical characteristics.
Data from 36 adolescents with SCZ and 38 HCs were included in the analyses. Significant differences were found between patients with SCZ and HCs in 24 channels, mainly covering the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, superior and middle temporal gyrus and frontopolar area. Adolescents with SCZ showed no increase of oxy-Hb concentration in most channels, while the VFT performance was comparable between the two groups. In SCZ, the intensity of activation was not associated with the severity of symptoms. Finally, receiver operating characteristic analysis indicated that the changes in oxy-Hb concentration could help distinguish the two groups.
Adolescents with first-episode SCZ showed atypical cortical activity in the frontotemporal area during the VFT, and fNIRS features might be more sensitive indicators in cognitive assessment, indicating that the characteristic hemodynamic response pattern might be potential imaging biomarkers for this population.
已发现额颞叶皮质功能障碍与精神分裂症（SCZ）患者的认知障碍有关。在青少年起病的SCZ患者中，这是一种功能结局较差的更严重类型的SCZ，认知障碍似乎在疾病早期就已出现。然而，额颞叶皮质参与青少年认知障碍患者的特征仍不清楚。在本研究中，我们旨在阐明首发SCZ青少年在认知任务期间的额颞叶血流动力学反应。
招募年龄在12 - 17岁的首发SCZ青少年以及人口统计学特征匹配的健康对照（HCs）。我们使用48通道功能近红外光谱（fNIRS）系统记录参与者在言语流畅性任务（VFT）期间额颞叶区域的氧合血红蛋白（oxy - Hb）浓度，并分析其与临床特征的相关性。
分析纳入了36名SCZ青少年和38名HCs的数据。在24个通道中发现SCZ患者和HCs之间存在显著差异，主要覆盖背外侧前额叶皮质、颞上回和颞中回以及额极区。大多数通道中，SCZ青少年的oxy - Hb浓度没有增加，而两组的VFT表现相当。在SCZ中，激活强度与症状严重程度无关。最后，受试者工作特征分析表明，oxy - Hb浓度的变化有助于区分两组。
首发SCZ青少年在VFT期间额颞叶区域表现出非典型的皮质活动，fNIRS特征可能是认知评估中更敏感的指标，表明特征性血流动力学反应模式可能是该人群潜在的成像生物标志物。
