Functional connectivity abnormalities of the long-axis hippocampal subregions in schizophrenia during episodic memory

Abstract

Past evidence suggests that hippocampal subregions, namely the anterior and posterior parts, may be engaged in distinct networks underlying the memory functions which may be altered in patients with schizophrenia. However, of the very few studies that have investigated the hippocampal longitudinal axis subdivisions functional connectivity in patients with schizophrenia, the majority was based on resting-state data, and yet, none aimed to examine these during an episodic memory task. A total of 41 patients with schizophrenia and 45 healthy controls were recruited for a magnetic resonance imaging protocol in which they performed an explicit memory task. Seed-based functional connectivity analysis was employed to assess connectivity abnormalities between hippocampal subregions and voxel-wise connectivity targets in patients with schizophrenia. We observed a significantly reduced connectivity between the posterior hippocampus and regions from the default mode network, but increased connectivity with the primary visual cortex, in patients with schizophrenia compared to healthy subjects. Increased connectivity between the anterior hippocampus and anterior temporal regions also characterized patients with schizophrenia. In the current study, we provided evidence and support for studying hippocampal subdivisions along the longitudinal axis in schizophrenia. Our results suggest that the abnormalities in hippocampal subregions functional connectivity reflect deficits in episodic memory that may be implicated in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia.