Zhou Sumiao, Kuang Qijie, Huang Huaqin, She Shenglin, Zheng Yingjun, Li Xuanzi
Department of Psychiatry, The Affiliated Brain Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University, 36 Mingxin Road, Liwan District, Guangzhou, 510370, China.
Key Laboratory of Neurogenetics and Channelopathies of Guangdong Province and the Ministry of Education of China, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 510000, China.
BMC Psychiatry. 2025 Feb 19;25(1):147. doi: 10.1186/s12888-025-06535-7.
This study focused on the relationship between facial working memory and resting-state brain function abnormalities in patients with schizophrenia.
Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) data were collected from 28 first-episode schizophrenia (FSZ) patients and 33 healthy controls (HCs). Degree centrality (DC) and Granger causality analysis (GCA) were used to assess brain region connectivity. A delayed matching-to-sample task was used to examine visual working memory for faces and houses. Correlations between DC and facial working memory accuracy were analysed. Brain regions were selected as regions of interest (ROIs) and subjected to further GCA. MRI signals of the DC or GCA were extracted and analysed for correlation with clinical symptom scores.
The results revealed that FSZ patients presented facial working memory impairments at high loads (t = 2.21, P = 0.03). DC values of the right middle frontal gyrus (MFG) were linked to facial working memory accuracy (P < 0.05, false discovery rate (FDR) correction). GCA indicated inhibited connectivity from the right MFG to the right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and right thalamus and from the right postcentral gyrus to the right MFG in FSZ patients (P < 0.05, FDR correction). The DC values of the right thalamus were correlated with negative symptom scores (r = -0.44, P = 0.02) and affective symptom scores (r = -0.57, P < 0.01).
Our findings suggest that FSZ patients may have impaired facial working memory ability, which may be associated with altered functions in multiple brain regions. Some of these functions are associated with clinical symptoms, which may provide insight into the underlying neural mechanisms of schizophrenia.
本研究聚焦于精神分裂症患者面部工作记忆与静息态脑功能异常之间的关系。
收集了28例首发精神分裂症（FSZ）患者和33名健康对照者（HCs）的静息态功能磁共振成像（rs-fMRI）数据。采用度中心性（DC）和格兰杰因果分析（GCA）来评估脑区连通性。使用延迟匹配样本任务来检测对面部和房屋的视觉工作记忆。分析DC与面部工作记忆准确性之间的相关性。选择脑区作为感兴趣区域（ROIs）并进行进一步的GCA。提取DC或GCA的MRI信号并分析其与临床症状评分的相关性。
结果显示，FSZ患者在高负荷下存在面部工作记忆损害（t = 2.21，P = 0.03）。右侧额中回（MFG）的DC值与面部工作记忆准确性相关（P < 0.05，错误发现率（FDR）校正）。GCA表明，FSZ患者中从右侧MFG到右侧额下回（IFG）和右侧丘脑以及从右侧中央后回到右侧MFG的连通性受到抑制（P < 0.05，FDR校正）。右侧丘脑的DC值与阴性症状评分（r = -0.44，P = 0.02）和情感症状评分（r = -0.57，P < 0.01）相关。
我们的研究结果表明，FSZ患者可能存在面部工作记忆能力受损，这可能与多个脑区功能改变有关。其中一些功能与临床症状相关，这可能为精神分裂症的潜在神经机制提供见解。
