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. 2012 Aug;139(1-3):13-8.
doi: 10.1016/j.schres.2012.05.005. Epub 2012 May 26.

Altered default network resting state functional connectivity in patients with a first episode of psychosis

Anna Alonso-Solís  1 , Iluminada Corripio, Pilar de Castro-Manglano, Santiago Duran-Sindreu, Manuel Garcia-Garcia, Erika Proal, Fidel Nuñez-Marín, Cesar Soutullo, Enric Alvarez, Beatriz Gómez-Ansón, Clare Kelly, F Xavier Castellanos
Affiliations

Altered default network resting state functional connectivity in patients with a first episode of psychosis

Anna Alonso-Solís et al. Schizophr Res. 2012 Aug.

Abstract

Background: Default network (DN) abnormalities have been identified in patients with chronic schizophrenia using "resting state" functional magnetic resonance imaging (R-fMRI). Here, we examined the integrity of the DN in patients experiencing their first episode of psychosis (FEP) compared with sex- and age-matched healthy controls.

Methods: We collected R-fMRI data from 19 FEP patients (mean age 24.9 ± 4.8 yrs, 14 males) and 19 healthy controls (26.1 ± 4.8 yrs, 14 males) at 3T. Following standard preprocessing, we examined the functional connectivity (FC) of two DN subsystems and the two DN hubs (P<0.0045, corrected).

Results: Patients with FEP exhibited abnormal FC that appeared largely restricted to the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dMPFC) DN subsystem. Relative to controls, FEP patients exhibited weaker positive FC between dMPFC and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) and precuneus, extending laterally through the parietal lobe to the posterior angular gyrus. Patients with FEP exhibited weaker negative FC between the lateral temporal cortex and the intracalcarine cortex, bilaterally. The PCC and temporo-parietal junction also exhibited weaker negative FC with the right fusiform gyrus extending to the lingual gyrus and lateral occipital cortex, in FEP patients, compared to controls. By contrast, patients with FEP showed stronger negative FC between the temporal pole and medial motor cortex, anterior precuneus and posterior mid-cingulate cortex.

Conclusions: Abnormalities in the dMPFC DN subsystem in patients with a FEP suggest that FC patterns are altered even in the early stages of psychosis.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest

Anna Alonso Solís reports no biomedical financial interests or potential conflicts of interest. Dr. Corripio reports no biomedical financial interests or potential conflicts of interest. Dr. de Castro-Manglano has received research funding from: Alicia Koplowitz Fundation, AstraZeneca, Shire, Pfizer, Sociedad Vasco-Navarra de Psiquiatría, Govierno de Navarra. She has received Royalties from Ed. Médica Panamericana and EUNSA. Dr. Duran-Sindreu received lecture fees from Novartis and Actelion. Dr. García reports no biomedical financial interests or potential conflicts of interest. Dr. Proal reports no biomedical financial interests or potential conflicts of interest. Fidel Nuñez Marín reports no biomedical financial interests of potential conflicts or interest.

Dr. Soutullo has received research funding from: Abbott, Alicia Koplowitz Foundation, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, Gobierno de Navarra, Carlos III Institute(FIS): Redes Temáticas de Investigación Cooperativa, Pfizer, PIUNA, Stanley Medical Research Institute-NAMI, and Solvay.

He has served as Consultant for: Alicia Koplowitz Foundation, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Editorial Médica Panamericana, Eli Lilly, Juste, EINAQ (European Interdisciplinary Network ADHD Quality Assurance), Janssen-Cilag, Pfizer, Shire, and Otsuka. He has served on the speaker's bureaus of : Asociación Navarra ADHI, ACANPADAH, APNADAH, AstraZeneca, ASTTA, Asociación Sarasate, TDAHGC, CC.AA.: Asturias, Canarias, Castilla y León, Madrid; Eli Lilly, Fundación Innovación Social de la Cultura, GlaxoSmithKline, Grupo Aula Médica, Janssen-Cilag, Novartis, SEP-SEPB, Shire, Sociedad Vasco-Navarra Psiquiatría, and Solvay. He has received Royalties from: DOYMA, Editorial Médica Panamericana, Grupo Correo, EUNSA, and Euro RSCG Life Medea Enric Alvarez has received consulting and educational honoraria from several pharmaceutical companies including Eli Lilly Sanofi-Aventis, Lundbeck and Pfizer, and he has participated as main local investigator in clinical trials from Eli Lilly, Bristol-Myers and Sanofi-Aventis and also as national coordinator of clinical trials from Servier and Lundbeck. Beatriz Gómez Ansón reports no biomedical financial interests or potential conflicts of interest. Dr. Kelly reports no biomedical financial interests or potential conflicts of interest. F. Xavier Castellanos reports no biomedical financial interests or potential conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Group-level FC and regions exhibiting significant group differences in FC for the dMPFC and TempP seed ROIs
Positive FC is shown in red-orange, negative FC is shown in light blue. Regions exhibiting significantly weaker FC (corresponding to stronger negative FC in the case of the TempP seed) in FEP patients, relative to controls, are shown in dark blue. Mean FC values within the regions exhibiting significant group differences are shown on the scatter plots; FEP patients appear in red, controls are shown in dark blue. FC: Functional connectivity; FEP: First Episode of psychosis; HC: Healthy controls; dMPC: dorsomedial prefrontal cortex; TempP: Temporal Pole.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Group-level FC and regions exhibiting significant group differences in FC for the PCC, TPJ, LTC seeds
Positive FC is shown in red-orange, negative FC is shown in light blue. Regions exhibiting significantly weaker negative FC in FEP patients, relative to controls, are shown in red. Mean FC values within the regions exhibiting significant group differences are shown on the scatter plots; FEP patients appear in dark blue, controls are shown in red. FC: Functional Connectivity; FEP: First episode of psychosis; HC: Healthy controls; PCC: Posterior Cingulate Cortex; TPJ: Temporoparietal junction; LTC: Lateral temporal cortex.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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