Bomyea Jessica, Feng Shirley, Moore Raeanne C, Simmons Alan N, Thomas Michael L
Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health, VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, California; Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, San Diego, California.
Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, San Diego, California; Massachusetts General Hospital, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Boston, Massachusetts.
Biol Psychiatry Cogn Neurosci Neuroimaging. 2024 Dec;9(12):1262-1270. doi: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.04.017. Epub 2024 May 4.
Repetitive negative thinking (RNT) symptoms, which are characterized by pervasive, uncontrollable negative thoughts, are common in individuals with mood, anxiety, and traumatic stress disorders. Inability to regulate the contents of working memory is a hypothesized etiological factor in RNT, which suggests that training to improve working memory may be beneficial. This study examined the effects of working memory training on resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) in individuals with elevated RNT and whether such changes would be associated with clinical improvement.
We conducted a secondary analysis of pre-post resting-state data collected as part of a randomized controlled trial (NCT04912089) of working memory training interventions (n = 42) compared with a waitlist control group (n = 23). We hypothesized that individuals who completed training would show increased rsFC between the 2 key intrinsic connectivity networks-the default mode network (posterior cingulate cortex) and the frontoparietal network (dorsolateral prefrontal cortex). We explored whether the magnitude of rsFC change was associated with change in RNT symptom severity.
rsFC increased between the posterior cingulate cortex and regions including the frontal and parietal cortex in the training group compared with the waitlist group. Increased connectivity between the posterior cingulate cortex and superior frontal cortex was associated with RNT symptom reduction.
These data provide evidence that working memory training can modulate neural circuitry at rest in individuals with RNT. Results are consistent with accounts of working memory training effects on large-scale neurocircuitry changes and suggest that these changes may contribute to clinical promise of this type of intervention on transdiagnostic RNT symptoms.
重复性消极思维（RNT）症状以普遍存在、无法控制的消极想法为特征，在患有情绪、焦虑和创伤应激障碍的个体中很常见。无法调节工作记忆的内容是RNT中一个假设的病因因素，这表明改善工作记忆的训练可能有益。本研究考察了工作记忆训练对RNT水平升高个体静息态功能连接（rsFC）的影响，以及这种变化是否与临床改善相关。
我们对作为工作记忆训练干预随机对照试验（NCT04912089）一部分收集的静息态前后数据进行了二次分析（训练组n = 42），并与候补对照组（n = 23）进行比较。我们假设完成训练的个体在两个关键的内在连接网络——默认模式网络（后扣带回皮质）和额顶网络（背外侧前额叶皮质）之间的rsFC会增加。我们探讨了rsFC变化的幅度是否与RNT症状严重程度的变化相关。
与候补组相比，训练组后扣带回皮质与包括额叶和顶叶皮质在内的区域之间的rsFC增加。后扣带回皮质与额上回皮质之间连接性的增加与RNT症状减轻相关。
这些数据提供了证据，表明工作记忆训练可以调节RNT个体的静息神经回路。结果与工作记忆训练对大规模神经回路变化的影响的描述一致，并表明这些变化可能有助于这种针对跨诊断RNT症状的干预措施的临床前景。
