Abstract
BackgroundBy combining regional homogeneity (ReHo) and functional connectivity (FC) analyses, this study aimed to explore brain functional alterations in Attenuated Psychosis Syndrome (APS), which could provide complementary information for the neurophysiological indicators for schizophrenia (SZ) associated brain dysfunction.MethodsTwenty-one APS subjects and twenty healthy controls were enrolled in the data acquisition of demographics and clinical characteristics as well as structural and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI). ReHo analysis was conducted to determine the peak coordinate of the abnormal regional brain activity. Then, identified brain regions were considered as seed regions and were used to calculate FC between reginal brain voxels and whole brain voxels. Finally, potential correlations between imaging indices and clinical data were also explored.ResultsFour APS and two HC subjects were excluded because the largest dynamic translation or rotation had exceeded 2 mm / 2°. Compared with healthy controls (HCs), APS subjects exhibited higher ReHo values in the right middle temporal gyrus (MTG) and lower ReHo values in the left middle frontal gyrus (MFG), left superior frontal gyrus (SFG), left postcentral gyrus (PoCG), and left superior frontal gyrus, medial (SFGmed). Considered these areas as seed regions, the APS subjects showed abnormal enhancement in functional brain connections, predominantly in the frontal and temporal lobes.ConclusionsWe concluded that the APS subjects had spatially regional dysfunction and remoted synchronous dysfunction in the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain, and changes in ReHo and FC patterns may reveal the mechanism of brain dysfunctions and may serve as an imaging biomarker for the diagnosis and evaluation of SZ.
Highlights
By combining regional homogeneity (ReHo) and functional connectivity (FC) analyses, this study aimed to explore brain functional alterations in Attenuated Psychosis Syndrome (APS), which could provide complementary information for the neurophysiological indicators for schizophrenia (SZ) associated brain dysfunction
Some researchers named this phase as Attenuated Psychosis Syndrome (APS), and this diagnostic term was included in the section III of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) [3, 4]
The purpose of using structured Interview for Prodromal Syndromes (SIPS) was to distinguish three prodromal syndromes defined by COPS (Criteria of Prodromal Syndromes) and psychosis onset defined by POPS (Presence of Psychotic Syndrome) [26, 27]
Summary
By combining regional homogeneity (ReHo) and functional connectivity (FC) analyses, this study aimed to explore brain functional alterations in Attenuated Psychosis Syndrome (APS), which could provide complementary information for the neurophysiological indicators for schizophrenia (SZ) associated brain dysfunction. Seventy to ninety percent of schizophrenic patients would experience behavioral, verbal, and cognitive abnormalities before they reach the diagnosis of schizophrenia [1, 2] Some researchers named this phase as Attenuated Psychosis Syndrome (APS), and this diagnostic term was included in the section III of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) [3, 4]. Individuals with APS were considered to be highly at risk to psychosis: about 20–25% of them would convert to psychosis within 1 year and 30– 35% within 2 years [8] It is a well-accepted fact that even though schizophrenia (SZ) was classified as a severe mental illness, we don’t have much to serve as qualitative or quantitative biological indicators; its etiological research involved schizophrenic patients, and included APS, first-degree relatives and other related groups. Previous studies were able to discover some symptomatology predictors in the APS group, including impairments in working memory, general intelligence, executive functions, verbal/visual memory, verbal fluency, attention and social cognition [9, 10] And since the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was applied in this research, it became the excellent tool in exploring brain dysfunctions under mental symptoms
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