Cerebellum as a neural substrate for impoverishment in early psychosis

IF 2 3区心理学 Q3 BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES

Neuropsychologia Pub Date : 2025-02-21 DOI:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2025.109094

Eric Toyota , Michael Mackinley , Angelica M. Silva , Yuchao Jiang , Tyler C. Dalal , Caroline Nettekoven , Lena Palaniyappan

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background

Formal Thought Disorder and includes both positive (i.e., disorganized speech) and negative (i.e., impoverished speech) symptoms. Emerging evidence suggests that the cerebellum plays a critical role in cognitive functions, including language processing. This study leverages Natural Language Processing to objectively measure language disturbances in patients with first-episode psychosis and investigates the relationship between these disturbances and cerebellar structure.

Methods

Fifty-four patients with schizophrenia, either drug-naïve or minimally medicated, were recruited from an early psychosis program. Impoverished thought was assessed using the Thought Language Index while lexico-semantic features (affect, cognitive, linguistic, perception, time) were identified from speech samples analyzed using the Linguistic Inquiry Word Count-22 software. Structural cerebellar analysis was completed on 7.0 Tesla MRI scans using voxel-based morphometry (VBM) to measure global and regional grey matter volume changes.

Results

Linear regression analysis revealed that reduced perceptual word usage was the strongest predictor of impoverished thinking. Correlational analysis identified reduced cerebellar volumes in patients with lower LIWC-based perception scores. VBM localized this relationship to a cluster in the right posterolateral cerebellar hemisphere, an area related to executive demand and verb generation function.

Conclusion

The cerebellum contributes to impoverished thinking in early psychosis, likely by influencing the lexical expression of perceptual experiences. This underscores the cerebellum's role in higher-order cognitive processes relevant to psychotic disorders and its potential as a therapeutic target for language and cognitive deficits in schizophrenia.

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小脑作为早期精神病贫化的神经基质

形式思维障碍，包括积极的（如言语混乱）和消极的（如言语贫乏）症状。新出现的证据表明，小脑在包括语言处理在内的认知功能中起着关键作用。本研究利用自然语言处理技术客观测量首发精神病患者的语言障碍，并探讨这些障碍与小脑结构的关系。方法从早期精神病项目中招募54例精神分裂症患者（drug-naïve或最低限度用药）。贫乏思维用思想语言指数进行评估，词汇语义特征（情感、认知、语言、感知、时间）用语言查询词计数-22软件从分析的语音样本中识别。在7.0特斯拉MRI扫描上完成小脑结构分析，使用基于体素的形态测量（VBM）测量整体和区域灰质体积变化。结果线性回归分析显示，感知词汇使用减少是思维能力低下的最强预测因子。相关分析发现，基于liwc的感知评分较低的患者小脑体积减小。VBM将这种关系定位于小脑右后外侧的一个簇，该区域与执行需求和动词生成功能有关。结论小脑可能通过影响感知经验的词汇表达，导致早期精神病患者思维障碍。这强调了小脑在与精神障碍相关的高阶认知过程中的作用，以及它作为精神分裂症中语言和认知缺陷的治疗靶点的潜力。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Neuropsychologia 医学-行为科学

CiteScore

5.10

自引率

3.80%

发文量

228

审稿时长

4 months

期刊介绍： Neuropsychologia is an international interdisciplinary journal devoted to experimental and theoretical contributions that advance understanding of human cognition and behavior from a neuroscience perspective. The journal will consider for publication studies that link brain function with cognitive processes, including attention and awareness, action and motor control, executive functions and cognitive control, memory, language, and emotion and social cognition.