Abstract
BackgroundPsychotic disorders have been suggested to derive from dysfunctional integration of signaling between brain regions. Earlier studies have found several changes in functional network synchronization as well as altered network topology in patients with psychotic disorders. However, studies have used mainly resting-state that makes it more difficult to link functional alterations to any specific stimulus or experience. We set out to examine functional connectivity as well as graph (topological) measures and their association to symptoms in first-episode psychosis patients during movie viewing. Our goal was to understand whole-brain functional dynamics of complex naturalistic information processing in psychosis and changes in brain functional organization related to symptoms. Methods71 first-episode psychosis patients and 57 control subjects watched scenes from the movie Alice in Wonderland during 3 T fMRI. We compared functional connectivity and graph measures indicating integration, segregation and centrality between groups, and examined the association between topology and symptom scores in the patient group. ResultsWe identified a subnetwork with predominantly decreased links of functional connectivity in first-episode psychosis patients. The subnetwork was mainly comprised of nodes of and links between the cingulo-opercular, sensorimotor and default-mode networks. In topological measures, we observed between-group differences in properties of centrality. ConclusionsFunctional brain networks are affected during naturalistic information processing already in the early stages of psychosis, concentrated in salience- and cognitive control-related hubs and subnetworks. Understanding these aberrant dynamics could add to better targeted cognitive and behavioral interventions in the early stages of psychotic disorders.
Highlights
Psychotic disorders may result from an altered dynamics of how different parts of the brain interact (Friston, 1998)
We identified a subnetwork with predominantly decreased links of functional connectivity in firstepisode psychosis patients
This may relate to the dysregulated brain dynamics proposed by the dysconnectivity hypothesis, that has been supported by findings of alterations in functional brain network connectivity (Baker et al, 2014; Fornito et al, 2011; O'Neill et al, 2018; Palaniyappan and Liddle, 2012; Satterthwaite and Baker, 2015; van den Heuvel and Fornito, 2014; Whitfield-Gabrieli et al, 2009; Whitfield-Gabrieli and Ford, 2012) as well as network organization and structure (Lynall et al, 2010; Morgan et al, 2018) of patients with psychotic disorders
Summary
Psychotic disorders may result from an altered dynamics of how different parts of the brain interact (Friston, 1998). It has been proposed that psychotic symptoms are a manifestation of glutamate-driven and dopamine-related aberrant salience attribution in patients, where the recognition of salient stimuli is disrupted (Coyle et al, 2020; Kapur, 2003) This may relate to the dysregulated brain dynamics proposed by the dysconnectivity hypothesis, that has been supported by findings of alterations in functional brain network connectivity (Baker et al, 2014; Fornito et al, 2011; O'Neill et al, 2018; Palaniyappan and Liddle, 2012; Satterthwaite and Baker, 2015; van den Heuvel and Fornito, 2014; Whitfield-Gabrieli et al, 2009; Whitfield-Gabrieli and Ford, 2012) as well as network organization and structure (Lynall et al, 2010; Morgan et al, 2018) of patients with psychotic disorders. Un derstanding these aberrant dynamics could add to better targeted cognitive and behavioral interventions in the early stages of psychotic disorders
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