Vera Jane Erchinger, Ole Johan Evjenth Sørhaug, Stein Magnus Aukland, Gunnar Moen, Peter Moritz Schuster, Lars Ersland, Renate Grüner, Ketil J Oedegaard, Ute Kessler, Olga Therese Ousdal, Leif Oltedal
{"title":"Effects of Electroconvulsive Therapy on Brain Structure: A Neuroradiological Investigation Into White Matter Hyperintensities, Atrophy, and Microbleeds.","authors":"Vera Jane Erchinger, Ole Johan Evjenth Sørhaug, Stein Magnus Aukland, Gunnar Moen, Peter Moritz Schuster, Lars Ersland, Renate Grüner, Ketil J Oedegaard, Ute Kessler, Olga Therese Ousdal, Leif Oltedal","doi":"10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.12.004","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.12.004","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a well-established treatment for severe depression, but it remains stigmatized due to public perceptions linking it with brain injury. Despite extensive research, the neurobiological mechanisms underlying ECT have not been fully elucidated. Recent findings suggest that ECT may work through disrupting depression circuitry. However, whether ECT is associated with neuroradiological correlates of brain injury, including white matter changes, atrophy, and microbleeds, remains largely unexplored.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We performed magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans on 36 ECT patients (19 female), 19 healthy control participants (11 female), and 18 patients with atrial fibrillation (1 female) who were treated with electrical cardioversion while receiving an equivalent anesthetic as the ECT group. Scans were conducted at 4 time points: at baseline, after the first ECT treatment, after the ECT series, and at 6-month follow-up. We evaluated white matter changes using the Fazekas and the age-related white matter changes scales, atrophy using the global cortical atrophy and medial temporal lobe atrophy scales, and cerebral microbleeds using the Microbleed Anatomical Rating Scale. Data were analyzed using nonparametric statistical methods.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Patients did not show any changes in radiological scores after ECT (all ps > .1), except for a decrease in microbleeds (p = .05).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Utilizing state-of-the-art MRI techniques, we found no significant evidence that ECT induces white matter changes, atrophy, or microbleeds. Thus, although ECT may work through disrupting depression circuitry, the treatment is not associated with neuroradiological signs of brain injury.</p>","PeriodicalId":93900,"journal":{"name":"Biological psychiatry. Cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142873764","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Hanna Seelemeyer, Caroline Gurr, Johanna Leyhausen, Lisa M Berg, Charlotte M Pretzsch, Tim Schäfer, Bassem Hermila, Christine M Freitag, Eva Loth, Bethany Oakley, Luke Mason, Jan K Buitelaar, Christian F Beckmann, Dorothea L Floris, Tony Charman, Tobias Banaschewski, Emily Jones, Thomas Bourgeron, Declan Murphy, Christine Ecker
{"title":"Decomposing the Brain in Autism: Linking Behavioral Domains to Neuroanatomical Variation and Genomic Underpinnings.","authors":"Hanna Seelemeyer, Caroline Gurr, Johanna Leyhausen, Lisa M Berg, Charlotte M Pretzsch, Tim Schäfer, Bassem Hermila, Christine M Freitag, Eva Loth, Bethany Oakley, Luke Mason, Jan K Buitelaar, Christian F Beckmann, Dorothea L Floris, Tony Charman, Tobias Banaschewski, Emily Jones, Thomas Bourgeron, Declan Murphy, Christine Ecker","doi":"10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.12.003","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.12.003","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Autism is accompanied by highly individualized patterns of neurodevelopmental differences in brain anatomy. This variability makes the neuroanatomy of autism inherently difficult to describe at the group level. Here, we examined interindividual neuroanatomical differences using a dimensional approach that decomposed the domains of social communication and interaction (SCI), restricted and repetitive behaviors (RRBs), and atypical sensory processing (ASP) within a neurodiverse study population. Moreover, we aimed to link the resulting neuroanatomical patterns to specific molecular underpinnings.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Neurodevelopmental differences in cortical thickness (CT) and surface area (SA) were correlated with SCI, RRB, and ASP domain scores by regression of a general linear model in a large neurodiverse sample of 288 autistic individuals and 140 nonautistic individuals, ages 6 to 30 years, recruited within the European Autism Interventions Longitudinal European Autism Project (EU-AIMS LEAP). The domain-specific patterns of neuroanatomical variability were subsequently correlated with cortical gene expression profiles via the Allen Human Brain Atlas.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Across groups, behavioral variations in SCI, RRBs, and ASP were associated with interindividual differences in CT and SA in partially non-overlapping frontoparietal, temporal, and occipital networks. These domain-specific imaging patterns were enriched for genes that 1) are differentially expressed in autism, 2) mediate typical brain development, and 3) are associated with specific cortical cell types. Many of these genes were implicated in pathways governing synaptic structure and function.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Our study corroborates the close relationship between neuroanatomical variation and interindividual differences in autism-related symptoms and traits within the general framework of neurodiversity and links domain-specific patterns of neuroanatomical differences to putative molecular underpinnings.</p>","PeriodicalId":93900,"journal":{"name":"Biological psychiatry. Cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142866580","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Rohit S Kamath, Kimberly B Weldon, Hannah R Moser, Samantha A Montoya, Kamar S Abdullahi, Philip C Burton, Scott R Sponheim, Cheryl A Olman, Michael-Paul Schallmo
{"title":"Impaired Contour Object Perception in Psychosis.","authors":"Rohit S Kamath, Kimberly B Weldon, Hannah R Moser, Samantha A Montoya, Kamar S Abdullahi, Philip C Burton, Scott R Sponheim, Cheryl A Olman, Michael-Paul Schallmo","doi":"10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.12.002","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.12.002","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Contour integration, the process of joining spatially separated elements into a single unified line, has consistently been found to be impaired in schizophrenia. Recent work suggests that this deficit could be associated with psychotic symptomatology rather than a specific diagnosis such as schizophrenia.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Examining a transdiagnostic sample of participants with psychotic psychopathology, we obtained quantitative indices of contour perception in a psychophysical behavioral task. We also measured responses during an analogous task using ultra-high field (7T) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>We found impaired contour discrimination performance among people with psychotic psychopathology (PwPP) (n = 63) compared with healthy control participants (n = 34) and biological relatives of PwPP (n = 44). Participants with schizophrenia (n = 31) showed impaired task performance compared with participants with bipolar disorder (n = 18). fMRI showed higher responses in the lateral occipital cortex of PwPP than in control participants. Using task-based functional connectivity analyses, we observed abnormal connectivity between visual brain areas during contour perception among PwPP. These connectivity differences only emerged when participants had to distinguish the contour object from background distractors, suggesting that a failure to suppress noise elements relative to contour elements may underlie impaired contour processing in PwPP.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Our results are consistent with impaired contour integration in psychotic psychopathology, and especially schizophrenia, that is related to cognitive dysfunction and may be linked to impaired functional connectivity across visual regions.</p>","PeriodicalId":93900,"journal":{"name":"Biological psychiatry. Cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12167754/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142857002","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ethan H Willbrand, Samira A Maboudian, Matthew V Elliott, Gabby M Kellerman, Sheri L Johnson, Kevin S Weiner
{"title":"Variable Presence of an Evolutionarily New Brain Structure Is Related to Trait Impulsivity.","authors":"Ethan H Willbrand, Samira A Maboudian, Matthew V Elliott, Gabby M Kellerman, Sheri L Johnson, Kevin S Weiner","doi":"10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.11.015","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.11.015","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Impulsivity is a multidimensional construct reflecting poor constraint over one's behaviors. Clinical psychology research has identified separable impulsivity dimensions that are each unique transdiagnostic indicators for psychopathology. However, despite this apparent clinical importance, the shared and unique neuroanatomical correlates of these factors remain largely unknown. Concomitantly, neuroimaging research has identified variably present human brain structures implicated in cognition and disorder: the folds (sulci) of the cerebral cortex located in the latest-developing and most evolutionarily expanded hominoid-specific association cortices.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We tethered these 2 fields to test whether variability in one such structure in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC)-the paracingulate sulcus (PCGS)-was related to individual differences in trait impulsivity. A total of 120 adult participants with internalizing or externalizing psychopathology completed a magnetic resonance imaging scan and the Three-Factor Impulsivity Index. Using precision imaging techniques, we manually identified the PCGS, when present, and acquired quantitative folding metrics (PCGS length and ACC local gyrification index).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Neuroanatomical-behavioral analyses revealed that participants with leftward or symmetrical PCGS patterns had greater severity of Lack of Follow Through (LFT)-which captures inattention and lack of perseverance-than those with rightward asymmetry. Neuroanatomical-functional analyses identified that the PCGS colocalized with a focal locus found in a neuroimaging meta-analysis on a feature underlying LFT. Neither quantitative folding metric related to any impulsivity dimension.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This study advances understanding of the neuroanatomical correlates of impulsivity and establishes the notion that the topographical organization of distinct, hominoid-specific cortical expanses underlies separable impulsivity dimensions with robust, transdiagnostic implications for psychopathology.</p>","PeriodicalId":93900,"journal":{"name":"Biological psychiatry. Cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-11-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12143805/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142756046","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Cleanthis Michael, Mackenzie E Mitchell, Arianna D Cascone, Nicholas D Fogleman, Keri S Rosch, Sarah A Cutts, James J Pekar, Olaf Sporns, Stewart H Mostofsky, Jessica R Cohen
{"title":"Reconfiguration of Functional Brain Network Organization and Dynamics With Changing Cognitive Demands in Children With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.","authors":"Cleanthis Michael, Mackenzie E Mitchell, Arianna D Cascone, Nicholas D Fogleman, Keri S Rosch, Sarah A Cutts, James J Pekar, Olaf Sporns, Stewart H Mostofsky, Jessica R Cohen","doi":"10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.11.006","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.11.006","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The pathophysiology of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is characterized by atypical brain network organization and dynamics. Although functional brain networks adaptively reconfigure across cognitive contexts, previous studies have largely focused on network dysfunction during the resting state. In this preliminary study, we examined how functional brain network organization and dynamics flexibly reconfigure across rest and 2 cognitive control tasks with different cognitive demands in 30 children with ADHD and 36 typically developing children (ages 8-12 years).</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We leveraged graph theoretical analyses to interrogate the segregation (modularity, within-module degree) and integration (global efficiency, node dissociation index) of frontoparietal, cingulo-opercular/salience, default mode, somatomotor, and visual networks. We also conducted edge time series analyses to quantify connectivity dynamics within and between these networks.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Across resting and task-based states, children with ADHD demonstrated significantly lower whole-graph modularity and a greater node dissociation index between default mode and visual networks. Furthermore, a significant task-by-diagnosis interaction was observed for frontoparietal network within-module degree, which decreased from rest to task in children with ADHD but increased in typically developing children. Finally, children with ADHD displayed significantly more dynamic connectivity within and across cingulo-opercular/salience, default mode, and somatomotor networks, especially during task performance. Exploratory analyses revealed associations between network dynamics, cognitive performance, and ADHD symptoms.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>By integrating static and dynamic network analyses across changing cognitive demands, this study provides novel insight into how context-specific, context-general, and timescale-dependent network connectivity is altered in children with ADHD. Our findings highlight the involvement and clinical relevance of both association and sensory/motor systems in ADHD.</p>","PeriodicalId":93900,"journal":{"name":"Biological psychiatry. Cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-11-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12084425/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142677715","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yahui Chen, Chen Yang, Bicheng Gao, Kehui Chen, R Joanne Jao Keehn, Ralph-Axel Müller, Li-Xia Yuan, Yuqi You
{"title":"Altered Functional Connectivity of Unimodal Sensory and Multisensory Integration Networks Is Related to Symptom Severity in Autism Spectrum Disorder.","authors":"Yahui Chen, Chen Yang, Bicheng Gao, Kehui Chen, R Joanne Jao Keehn, Ralph-Axel Müller, Li-Xia Yuan, Yuqi You","doi":"10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.10.014","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.10.014","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Atypical sensory processing is a prevalent feature of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and constitutes a core diagnostic criterion in DSM-5. However, the neurocognitive underpinnings of atypical unimodal and multimodal sensory processing and their relationships with autism symptoms remain unclear.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>In this study, we examined intrinsic functional connectivity (FC) patterns among 5 unimodal sensory and multisensory integration (MSI) networks in ASD using a large multisite dataset (N = 646) and investigated the relationships between altered FC, atypical sensory processing, social communicative deficits, and overall autism symptoms using correlation and mediation analyses.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Compared with typically developing control participants, participants in the ASD group demonstrated increased FC of the olfactory network, decreased FC within the MSI network, and decreased FC of the MSI-unimodal sensory networks. Furthermore, altered FC was positively associated with autism symptom severity, and such associations were completely mediated by atypical sensory processing and social communicative deficits.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>ASD-specific olfactory overconnectivity and MSI-unimodal sensory underconnectivity lend support to the intense world theory and weak central coherence theory, suggesting olfactory hypersensitivity at the expense of MSI as a potential neural mechanism underlying atypical sensory processing in ASD. These atypical FC patterns suggest potential targets for psychological and neuromodulatory interventions.</p>","PeriodicalId":93900,"journal":{"name":"Biological psychiatry. Cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-11-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142570454","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Margot Mangnus, Saskia B J Koch, Kexin Cai, Miriam Greidanus Romaneli, Peter Hagoort, Jana Bašnáková, Arjen Stolk
{"title":"Preserved Spontaneous Mentalizing Amid Reduced Intersubject Variability in Autism During a Movie Narrative.","authors":"Margot Mangnus, Saskia B J Koch, Kexin Cai, Miriam Greidanus Romaneli, Peter Hagoort, Jana Bašnáková, Arjen Stolk","doi":"10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.10.007","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.10.007","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>While individuals with autism often face challenges in everyday social interactions, they may demonstrate proficiency in structured theory of mind (ToM) tasks that assess their ability to infer others' mental states. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging and pupillometry, we investigated whether these discrepancies stem from diminished spontaneous mentalizing or broader difficulties in unstructured contexts.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Fifty-two adults diagnosed with autism and 52 neurotypical control participants viewed the animated short Partly Cloudy, a nonverbal animated film with a dynamic social narrative known to engage the ToM brain network during specific scenes. Analysis focused on comparing brain and pupil responses to these ToM events. Additionally, dynamic intersubject correlations were used to explore the variability of these responses throughout the film.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Both groups showed similar brain and pupil responses to ToM events and provided comparable descriptions of the characters' mental states. However, participants with autism exhibited significantly stronger correlations in their responses across the film's social narrative, indicating reduced interindividual variability. This distinct pattern emerged well before any ToM events and involved brain regions beyond the ToM network.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Our findings provide functional evidence of spontaneous mentalizing in autism, demonstrating this capacity in a context that affords but does not require mentalizing. Rather than responses to ToM events, a novel neurocognitive signature-interindividual variability in brain and pupil responses to evolving social narratives-differentiated neurotypical individuals from individuals with autism. These results suggest that idiosyncratic narrative processing in unstructured settings, a common element of everyday social interactions, may offer a more sensitive scenario for understanding the autistic mind.</p>","PeriodicalId":93900,"journal":{"name":"Biological psychiatry. Cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-10-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142570467","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Chen Zhang, Zongfeng Zhang, Rui Gao, Yongjun Chen, Xuan Cao, Xianghan Yi, Qing Fan
{"title":"Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Comorbid With or Without Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder: Conceptual Implications, Clinical Correlates, and Brain Morphometries.","authors":"Chen Zhang, Zongfeng Zhang, Rui Gao, Yongjun Chen, Xuan Cao, Xianghan Yi, Qing Fan","doi":"10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.09.010","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.09.010","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is often comorbid with obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD). The relationship between OCD and OCPD is complex, and the impact of comorbid OCPD on OCD remains underexplored, necessitating further research. In this study, we aimed to investigate the clinical correlates and brain morphometries associated with comorbid OCPD in a large sample of unmedicated patients with OCD.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A total of 248 unmedicated patients diagnosed with OCD (45 comorbid with OCPD) were included in this study. All participants were assessed for OCD symptoms, OCPD traits, obsessive beliefs, depression, and anxiety. Among them, 145 patients (23 comorbid with OCPD) volunteered to receive magnetic resonance imaging brain scans.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Approximately 18% (45/248) of patients with OCD were comorbid for OCPD (OCD+OCPD). Patients with OCD+OCPD exhibited more severe OCD symptoms, obsessive beliefs, depression, and anxiety than OCD patients without OCPD. Additionally, the severity of OCPD was positively correlated with OCD symptoms and obsessive beliefs. Furthermore, patients with OCD+OCPD exhibited increased cortical complexity in the left superior parietal lobule and left precuneus, which mediated the relationship between OCPD and OCD symptoms only in OCD patients without OCPD.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The co-occurrence of OCPD may contribute to the heightened severity of psychopathological symptoms and associated brain morphological alterations in patients with OCD, indicating distinct but interrelated constructs between these 2 disorders.</p>","PeriodicalId":93900,"journal":{"name":"Biological psychiatry. Cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142334317","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Altered Development of the Hurst Exponent in the Medial Prefrontal Cortex in Preschoolers With Autism.","authors":"Annika C Linke, Bosi Chen, Lindsay Olson, Michaela Cordova, Molly Wilkinson, Tiffany Wang, Meagan Herrera, Madison Salmina, Adriana Rios, Judy Mahmalji, Tess Do, Jessica Vu, Michelle Budman, Alexis Walker, Inna Fishman","doi":"10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.09.003","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.09.003","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Atypical balance of excitation (E) and inhibition (I) in the brain is thought to contribute to the emergence and symptomatology of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). E/I ratio can be estimated from resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) using the Hurst exponent, H. A recent study reported decreased ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) H in male adults with ASD. Part of the default mode network (DMN), the vmPFC plays an important role in emotion regulation, decision making, and social cognition. It frequently shows altered function and connectivity in individuals with autism.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The current study presents the first fMRI evidence of altered early development of vmPFC H and its link to DMN functional connectivity and emotional control in toddlers and preschoolers with ASD. A total of 83 children (45 with ASD), ages 1.5-5 years, underwent natural sleep fMRI as part of a longitudinal study.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>In a cross-sectional analysis, vmPFC H decreased with age in children with ASD, reflecting increasing E/I ratio, but not in typically developing children. This effect remained significant when controlling for gestational age at birth, socioeconomic status, or ethnicity. The same pattern was also observed in a subset of children with longitudinal fMRI data acquired 2 years apart on average. Lower vmPFC H was also associated with reduced functional connectivity within the DMN as well as with higher emotional control deficits (although only significant transdiagnostically).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>These results suggest an early onset of E/I imbalances in the vmPFC in ASD, with likely consequences for the maturation of the DMN.</p>","PeriodicalId":93900,"journal":{"name":"Biological psychiatry. Cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142303305","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ju-Chi Yu, Colin Hawco, Lucy Bassman, Lindsay D Oliver, Miklos Argyelan, James M Gold, Sunny X Tang, George Foussias, Robert W Buchanan, Anil K Malhotra, Stephanie H Ameis, Aristotle N Voineskos, Erin W Dickie
{"title":"Multivariate Association Between Functional Connectivity Gradients and Cognition in Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders.","authors":"Ju-Chi Yu, Colin Hawco, Lucy Bassman, Lindsay D Oliver, Miklos Argyelan, James M Gold, Sunny X Tang, George Foussias, Robert W Buchanan, Anil K Malhotra, Stephanie H Ameis, Aristotle N Voineskos, Erin W Dickie","doi":"10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.09.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.09.001","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSDs), which are characterized by social cognitive deficits, have been associated with dysconnectivity in unimodal (e.g., visual, auditory) and multimodal (e.g., default mode and frontoparietal) cortical networks. However, little is known about how such dysconnectivity is related to social and nonsocial cognition and how such brain-behavior relationships associate with clinical outcomes of SSDs.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We analyzed cognitive (nonsocial and social) measures and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data from the SPINS [Social Processes Initiative in Neurobiology of the Schizophrenia(s)] study (247 stable participants with SSDs and 172 healthy control participants, ages 18-55 years). We extracted gradients from parcellated connectomes and examined the association between the first 3 gradients and the cognitive measures using partial least squares correlation (PLSC). We then correlated the PLSC dimensions with functioning and symptoms in the SSD group.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The SSD group showed significantly lower differentiation on all 3 gradients. The first PLSC dimension explained 68.53% (p < .001) of the covariance and showed a significant difference between the SSD and the control group (bootstrap p < .05). PLSC showed that all cognitive measures were associated with gradient scores of unimodal and multimodal networks (gradient 1); auditory, sensorimotor, and visual networks (gradient 2); and perceptual networks and the striatum (gradient 3), which were less differentiated in SSDs. Furthermore, the first dimension was positively correlated with negative symptoms and functioning in the SSD group.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>These results suggest a potential role of lower differentiation of brain networks in cognitive and functional impairments in SSDs.</p>","PeriodicalId":93900,"journal":{"name":"Biological psychiatry. Cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11891086/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142303308","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}