Xu Yinqing, Huo Xiaoning, Yang Xiaolong, Ma Yutai, Wang Yongjie, Deng Jibao, Zheng Haozhong, Xiu Meihong, Wu Fengchun
Gansu University of Chinese Medicine, Weiyuan Road District, Lanzhou 730000, China.
Department of Psychological Counseling, Lanzhou Third People's Hospital, Gongjiawan District, Lanzhou 730050, China.
Int J Neuropsychopharmacol. 2025 Sep 1;28(9). doi: 10.1093/ijnp/pyaf058.
To investigate the differences in executive functions, specifically cognitive flexibility and inhibitory control, between schizophrenia (SCH) patients with predominantly positive symptoms (PSD) and those with predominantly negative symptoms (NSD), compared to healthy controls, using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS).
Fifty-two patients with SCH and 29 control subjects were recruited in the study. We employed fNIRS to measure brain activation while participants performed 2 tasks: a cognitive flexibility-switching task and the Stroop task, which assesses inhibitory control. Performance metrics included accuracy and reaction time. The study included 3 groups: SCH patients with PSD, SCH patients with NSD, and healthy controls.
Patients with SCH exhibited lower accuracy and longer reaction times compared to healthy controls. In terms of brain activation, the PSD group showed the highest levels of prefrontal activation, followed by healthy controls, while the NSD group had the lowest activation levels. Patients had lower accuracy and longer reaction times than healthy controls. The PSD group showed excessive activation in both prefrontal cortex and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex during both the congruent condition and incongruent condition of the Stroop task. In contrast, the NSD group exhibited higher prefrontal activation under congruent conditions but significantly reduced activation under incongruent conditions.
Our findings highlight distinct patterns of executive function deficits and brain activation in SCH patients with PSD and NSD. These results suggest that symptom profiles may influence the nature and severity of cognitive impairments and associated neural mechanisms. Future research should further explore these differences to inform targeted interventions and improve clinical outcomes for individuals with SCH.
使用功能近红外光谱技术（fNIRS），研究以阳性症状为主（PSD）的精神分裂症（SCH）患者与以阴性症状为主（NSD）的精神分裂症患者在执行功能（特别是认知灵活性和抑制控制）方面与健康对照者之间的差异。
本研究招募了52名SCH患者和29名对照者。我们使用fNIRS测量参与者执行两项任务时的大脑激活情况：一项认知灵活性转换任务和评估抑制控制的Stroop任务。表现指标包括准确性和反应时间。该研究包括三组：PSD的SCH患者、NSD的SCH患者和健康对照者。
与健康对照者相比，SCH患者的准确性较低，反应时间较长。在大脑激活方面，PSD组的前额叶激活水平最高，其次是健康对照者，而NSD组的激活水平最低。患者的准确性低于健康对照者，反应时间更长。在Stroop任务的一致条件和不一致条件下，PSD组在前额叶皮质和背外侧前额叶皮质均表现出过度激活。相比之下，NSD组在一致条件下前额叶激活较高，但在不一致条件下激活显著降低。
我们的数据突出了PSD和NSD的SCH患者在执行功能缺陷和大脑激活方面的不同模式。这些结果表明症状特征可能会影响认知障碍的性质和严重程度以及相关的神经机制。未来的研究应进一步探索这些差异，为有针对性的干预措施提供依据，并改善SCH患者的临床结局。
