1
|
Guo X, Xu C, Chen J, Wu Z, Hou S, Wei Z. Disrupted cognitive and affective empathy network interactions in autistic children viewing social animation. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2024; 19:nsae028. [PMID: 38597901 PMCID: PMC11071513 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsae028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2023] [Revised: 01/31/2024] [Accepted: 04/09/2024] [Indexed: 04/11/2024] Open
Abstract
Empathy can be divided into two core components, cognitive empathy (CE) and affective empathy (AE), mediated by distinct neural networks. Deficient empathy is a central feature of autism spectrum conditions (ASCs), but it is unclear if this deficit results from disruption solely within empathy networks or from disrupted functional integration between CE and AE networks. To address this issue, we measured functional connectivity (FC) patterns both within and between empathy networks in autistic children (4-8 years, n = 31) and matched typically developing (TD) children (n = 26) using near-infrared spectroscopy during the presentation of an animated story evoking CE and AE. Empathy and social communication ability were also assessed using the Empathy Quotient/Systemizing Quotient (EQ/SQ) and Social Responsiveness Scale, respectively. The results showed that the FC in the AE network of autistic children did not differ from the TD group across conditions; however, the ASC group showed weaker FC in the CE network under the CE condition and weaker FC between networks when processing AE information, the latter of which was negatively correlated with EQ scores in ASC. The empathy defect in ASC may involve abnormal integration of CE and AE network activities under AE conditions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Xinrong Guo
- Department of Psychology, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
- Department of Child Psychiatry and Rehabilitation, Shenzhen Maternity and Child Healthcare Hospital, Shenzhen 518040, China
| | - Chuanyong Xu
- School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China
| | - Jierong Chen
- Department of Child Psychiatry and Rehabilitation, Shenzhen Maternity and Child Healthcare Hospital, Shenzhen 518040, China
| | - Zhiliu Wu
- Department of Child Psychiatry and Rehabilitation, Shenzhen Maternity and Child Healthcare Hospital, Shenzhen 518040, China
| | - Shumeng Hou
- Department of Humanity and Social Science, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Zhen Wei
- Department of Psychology, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
- Department of Child Psychiatry and Rehabilitation, Shenzhen Maternity and Child Healthcare Hospital, Shenzhen 518040, China
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Yao G, Luo J, Zou T, Li J, Hu S, Yang L, Li X, Tian Y, Zhang Y, Feng K, Xu Y, Liu P. Transcriptional patterns of the cortical Morphometric Inverse Divergence in first-episode, treatment-naïve early-onset schizophrenia. Neuroimage 2024; 285:120493. [PMID: 38086496 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.120493] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2023] [Revised: 12/06/2023] [Accepted: 12/08/2023] [Indexed: 12/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Early-onset Schizophrenia (EOS) is a profoundly progressive psychiatric disorder characterized by both positive and negative symptoms, whose pathogenesis is influenced by genes, environment and brain structure development. In this study, the MIND (Morphometric Inverse Divergence) network was employed to explore the relationship between morphological similarity and specific transcriptional expression patterns in EOS patients. This study involved a cohort of 187 participants aged between 7 and 17 years, consisting of 97 EOS patients and 90 healthy controls (HC). Multiple morphological features were used to construct the MIND network for all participants. Furthermore, we explored the associations between MIND network and brain-wide gene expression in EOS patients through partial least squares (PLS) regression, shared genetic predispositions with other psychiatric disorders, functional enrichment of PLS weighted genes, as well as transcriptional signature assessment of cell types, cortical layers, and developmental stages. The MIND showed similarity differences in the orbitofrontal cortex, pericalcarine cortex, lingual gyrus, and multiple networks in EOS patients compared to HC. Moreover, our exploration revealed a significant overlap of PLS2 weighted genes linking to EOS-related MIND differences and the dysregulated genes reported in other psychiatric diseases. Interestingly, genes correlated with MIND changes (PLS2-) exhibited a significant enrichment not only in metabolism-related pathways, but also in specific astrocytes, cortical layers (specifically layer I and III), and posterior developmental stages (late infancy to young adulthood stages). However, PLS2+ genes were primarily enriched in synapses signaling-related pathways and early developmental stages (from early-mid fetal to neonatal early infancy) but not in special cell types or layers. These findings provide a novel perspective on the intricate relationship between macroscopic morphometric structural abnormalities and microscopic transcriptional patterns during the onset and progression of EOS.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Guanqun Yao
- School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China; Department of Psychiatry, Yuquan Hospital, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100040, China; Institute for Precision Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Jing Luo
- School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Ting Zou
- School of Life Sciences, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China
| | - Jing Li
- Department of Psychiatry, the First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan 030001, China; School of Mental Health, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan 030001, China
| | - Shuang Hu
- Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai 200030, China
| | - Langxiong Yang
- School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Xinrong Li
- Department of Psychiatry, the First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan 030001, China
| | - Yu Tian
- School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Yuqi Zhang
- School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Kun Feng
- School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China; Department of Psychiatry, Yuquan Hospital, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100040, China; Institute for Precision Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
| | - Yong Xu
- Department of Clinical Psychology, The Eighth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, No. 3025, Shennan Middle Road, Futian Street, Futian District, Shenzhen 518031, China.
| | - Pozi Liu
- School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China; Department of Psychiatry, Yuquan Hospital, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100040, China.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Smith C, Stamoulis C. Effects of multidomain environmental and mental health factors on the development of empathetic behaviors and emotions in adolescence. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0293473. [PMID: 37992006 PMCID: PMC10664943 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0293473] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2023] [Accepted: 10/13/2023] [Indexed: 11/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Empathy is at the core of our social world, yet multidomain factors that affect its development in socially sensitive periods, such as adolescence, are incompletely understood. To address this gap, this study investigated associations between social, environmental and mental health factors, and their temporal changes, on adolescent empathetic behaviors/emotions and, for comparison, callous unemotional (CU) traits and behaviors, in the early longitudinal Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development sample (baseline: n = 11062; 2-year follow-up: n = 9832, median age = 119 and 144 months, respectively). Caregiver affection towards the youth, liking school, having a close friend, and importance of religious beliefs/spirituality in the youth's life were consistently positively correlated with empathetic behaviors/emotions across assessments (p<0.001, Cohen's f = ~0.10). Positive family dynamics and cohesion, living in a neighborhood that shared the family's values, but also parent history of substance use and (aggregated) internalizing problems were additionally positively associated with one or more empathetic behaviors at follow-up (p<0.001, f = ~0.10). In contrast, externalizing problems, anxiety, depression, fear of social situations, and being withdrawn were negatively associated with empathetic behaviors and positively associated with CU traits and behaviors (p<0.001, f = ~0.1-0.44). The latter were also correlated with being cyberbullied and/or discriminated against, anhedonia, and impulsivity, and their interactions with externalizing and internalizing issues. Significant positive temporal correlations of behaviors at the two assessments indicated positive (early) developmental empathetic behavior trajectories, and negative CU traits' trajectories. Negative changes in mental health adversely moderated positive trajectories and facilitated negative ones. These findings highlight that adolescent empathetic behaviors/emotions are positively related to multidomain protective social environmental factors, but simultaneously adversely associated with risk factors in the same domains, as well as bully victimization, discrimination, and mental health problems. Risk factors instead facilitate the development of CU traits and behaviors.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Calli Smith
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Adolescent Medicine, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA, United States of America
| | - Catherine Stamoulis
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Adolescent Medicine, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA, United States of America
- Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States of America
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Gong M, Yao L, Ge X, Liu Z, Zhang C, Yang Y, Amdanee N, Wang C, Zhang X. Empathy deficit in male patients with schizophrenia and its relationships with impulsivity and premeditated violence. Front Psychiatry 2023; 14:1160357. [PMID: 37398588 PMCID: PMC10308378 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1160357] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2023] [Accepted: 05/22/2023] [Indexed: 07/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Objective To explore the pattern of empathy characteristics in male patients with schizophrenia (SCH) and to examine whether empathy deficit is associated with impulsivity and premeditated violence. Methods One hundred and fourteen male SCH patients were enrolled in this study. The demographic data of all patients were collected and the subjects were divided into two groups, namely, the violent group, including 60 cases, and the non-violent group, comprising 54 cases, according to the Modified Overt Aggression Scale (MOAS). The Chinese version of the Interpersonal Reactivity Index-C (IRI-C) was used to evaluate empathy and the Impulsive/Predicted Aggression Scales (IPAS) was employed to assess the characteristics of aggression. Results Among the 60 patients in the violent group, 44 patients had impulsive aggression (IA) and 16 patients had premeditated aggression (PM) according to the IPAS scale. In the violent group, the scores of the four subfactors of the IRI-C, i.e., perspective taking (PT), fantasy (FS), personal distress (PD), and empathy concern (EC), were significantly lower than in the non-violent group. Stepwise logistic regression showed that PM was independent influencing factor for violent behaviors in SCH patients. Correlation analysis revealed that EC of affective empathy was positively correlated with PM but not with IA. Conclusion SCH patients with violent behavior had more extensive empathy deficits compared with non-violent SCH patients. EC, IA and PM are independent risk factors of violence in SCH patients. Empathy concern is an important index to predict PM in male patients with SCH.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Muxin Gong
- Department of Psychiatry, The Affiliated Xuzhou Oriental Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu, China
- Department of Psychiatry, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, China
| | - Lei Yao
- Department of Psychiatry, The Affiliated Xuzhou Oriental Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu, China
| | - Xiaodan Ge
- Department of Psychiatry, The Affiliated Xuzhou Oriental Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu, China
| | - Zhenru Liu
- Department of Psychiatry, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, China
| | - Caiyi Zhang
- Department of Psychiatry, The Affiliated Xuzhou Oriental Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu, China
| | - Yujing Yang
- Department of Psychiatry, The Affiliated Xuzhou Oriental Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu, China
| | - Nousayhah Amdanee
- Department of Geriatric Psychiatry, The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Chengdong Wang
- Department of Psychiatry, The Affiliated Xuzhou Oriental Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu, China
| | - Xiangrong Zhang
- Department of Psychiatry, The Affiliated Xuzhou Oriental Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu, China
- Department of Psychiatry, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, China
- Department of Geriatric Psychiatry, The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Kerr WT, Tatekawa H, Lee JK, Karimi AH, Sreenivasan SS, O'Neill J, Smith JM, Hickman LB, Savic I, Nasrullah N, Espinoza R, Narr K, Salamon N, Beimer NJ, Hadjiiski LM, Eliashiv DS, Stacey WC, Engel J, Feusner JD, Stern JM. Clinical MRI morphological analysis of functional seizures compared to seizure-naïve and psychiatric controls. Epilepsy Behav 2022; 134:108858. [PMID: 35933959 DOI: 10.1016/j.yebeh.2022.108858] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2022] [Revised: 06/26/2022] [Accepted: 07/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE Functional seizures (FS), also known as psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES), are physical manifestations of acute or chronic psychological distress. Functional and structural neuroimaging have identified objective signs of this disorder. We evaluated whether magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) morphometry differed between patients with FS and clinically relevant comparison populations. METHODS Quality-screened clinical-grade MRIs were acquired from 666 patients from 2006 to 2020. Morphometric features were quantified with FreeSurfer v6. Mixed-effects linear regression compared the volume, thickness, and surface area within 201 regions-of-interest for 90 patients with FS, compared to seizure-naïve patients with depression (n = 243), anxiety (n = 68), and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD, n = 41), respectively, and to other seizure-naïve controls with similar quality MRIs, accounting for the influence of multiple confounds including depression and anxiety based on chart review. These comparison populations were obtained through review of clinical records plus research studies obtained on similar scanners. RESULTS After Bonferroni-Holm correction, patients with FS compared with seizure-naïve controls exhibited thinner bilateral superior temporal cortex (left 0.053 mm, p = 0.014; right 0.071 mm, p = 0.00006), thicker left lateral occipital cortex (0.052 mm, p = 0.0035), and greater left cerebellar white-matter volume (1085 mm3, p = 0.0065). These findings were not accounted for by lower MRI quality in patients with FS. CONCLUSIONS These results reinforce prior indications of structural neuroimaging correlates of FS and, in particular, distinguish brain morphology in FS from that in depression, anxiety, and OCD. Future work may entail comparisons with other psychiatric disorders including bipolar and schizophrenia, as well as exploration of brain structural heterogeneity within FS.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Wesley T Kerr
- Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Department of Neurology, Michigan Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
| | - Hiroyuki Tatekawa
- Department of Radiology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - John K Lee
- Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Amir H Karimi
- Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Siddhika S Sreenivasan
- Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Joseph O'Neill
- Division of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Jane & Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Brain Research Institute, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Jena M Smith
- Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - L Brian Hickman
- Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Ivanka Savic
- Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institute and Neurology Clinic, Karolinksa University Hospital, Karolinska Universitetssjukhuset, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Nilab Nasrullah
- Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institute and Neurology Clinic, Karolinksa University Hospital, Karolinska Universitetssjukhuset, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Randall Espinoza
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Katherine Narr
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Noriko Salamon
- Department of Radiology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Nicholas J Beimer
- Department of Neurology, Michigan Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Michigan Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Lubomir M Hadjiiski
- Department of Radiology, Michigan Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Dawn S Eliashiv
- Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - William C Stacey
- Department of Neurology, Michigan Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Jerome Engel
- Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Brain Research Institute, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Department of Neurobiology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Jamie D Feusner
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Canada; Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada; Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - John M Stern
- Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Sun JF, Chen LM, He JK, Wang Z, Guo CL, Ma Y, Luo Y, Gao DQ, Hong Y, Fang JL, Xu FQ. A Comparative Study of Regional Homogeneity of Resting-State fMRI Between the Early-Onset and Late-Onset Recurrent Depression in Adults. Front Psychol 2022; 13:849847. [PMID: 35465554 PMCID: PMC9021891 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.849847] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2022] [Accepted: 03/11/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Neurobiological mechanisms underlying the recurrence of major depressive disorder (MDD) at different ages are unclear, and this study used the regional homogeneity (ReHo) index to compare whether there are differences between early onset recurrent depression (EORD) and late onset recurrent depression (LORD). Methods Eighteen EORD patients, 18 LORD patients, 18 young healthy controls (HCs), and 18 older HCs were included in the rs-fMRI scans. ReHo observational metrics were used for image analysis and further correlation of differential brain regions with clinical symptoms was analyzed. Results ANOVA analysis revealed significant differences between the four groups in ReHo values in the prefrontal, parietal, temporal lobes, and insula. Compared with EORD, the LORD had higher ReHo in the right fusiform gyrus/right middle temporal gyrus, left middle temporal gyrus/left angular gyrus, and right middle temporal gyrus/right angular gyrus, and lower ReHo in the right inferior frontal gyrus/right insula and left superior temporal gyrus/left insula. Compared with young HCs, the EORD had higher ReHo in the right inferior frontal gyrus/right insula, left superior temporal gyrus/left insula, and left rolandic operculum gyrus/left superior temporal gyrus, and lower ReHo in the left inferior parietal lobule, right inferior parietal lobule, and left middle temporal gyrus/left angular gyrus. Compared with old HCs, the LORD had higher ReHo in the right fusiform gyrus/right middle temporal gyrus, right middle temporal gyrus/right angular gyrus, and left rolandic operculum gyrus/left superior temporal gyrus, and lower ReHo in the right inferior frontal gyrus/right insula. ReHo in the right inferior frontal gyrus/right insula of patients with LORD was negatively correlated with the severity of 17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAMD-17) scores (r = −0.5778, p = 0.0120). Conclusion Adult EORD and LORD patients of different ages have abnormal neuronal functional activity in some brain regions, with differences closely related to the default mode network (DMN) and the salience network (SN), and patients of each age group exhibit ReHo abnormalities relative to matched HCs. Clinical Trial Registration [http://www.chictr.org.cn/], [ChiCTR1800014277].
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ji-Fei Sun
- Guang'anmen Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.,Graduate School of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Li-Mei Chen
- Guang'anmen Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.,Graduate School of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Jia-Kai He
- Graduate School of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.,Institute of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Zhi Wang
- Guang'anmen Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.,Graduate School of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Chun-Lei Guo
- Guang'anmen Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.,Graduate School of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yue Ma
- Guang'anmen Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.,Graduate School of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yi Luo
- Guang'anmen Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.,Graduate School of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - De-Qiang Gao
- Guang'anmen Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yang Hong
- Guang'anmen Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Ji-Liang Fang
- Guang'anmen Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Feng-Quan Xu
- Guang'anmen Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Guo P, Hu S, Jiang X, Zheng H, Mo D, Cao X, Zhu J, Zhong H. Associations of Neurocognition and Social Cognition With Brain Structure and Function in Early-Onset Schizophrenia. Front Psychiatry 2022; 13:798105. [PMID: 35222115 PMCID: PMC8866448 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.798105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2021] [Accepted: 01/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Cognitive impairment is a core feature of schizophrenia that is more serious in patients with early-onset schizophrenia (EOS). However, the neuroimaging basis of cognitive functions, including neurocognition and social cognition, remains unclear in patients with EOS. METHODS Forty-three patients with EOS underwent structural and resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging scans. Brain structure and function were evaluated through the analysis of brain gray matter volume (GMV) and amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF). They underwent comprehensive assessments for neurocognition (verbal memory, verbal expression, attention, and executive function) and social cognition (theory of mind and attributional bias). Correlation analyses were conducted to detect the potential link between cognitive function indices and brain imaging parameters. RESULTS First, neurocognition was linked to brain structure characterized by higher immediate recall scores associated with increased GMV in the left temporal pole, higher verbal fluency scores associated with increased GMV in the left temporal pole: middle temporal gyrus, and higher Stroop-word scores associated with increased GMV in the right middle frontal gyrus. Second, social cognition was related to brain function characterized by lower sense of reality scores associated with increased ALFF in the left precentral gyrus, higher scores of accidental hostility bias associated with increased ALFF in the right middle temporal gyrus, and higher scores of accidental aggression bias associated with increased ALFF in the left precentral gyrus. CONCLUSION These findings may add to the existing knowledge about the cognitive function-brain relationship. They may have clinical significance for studying the mechanism of neurocognitive and social cognitive impairment in patients with EOS and providing potential neural targets for their treatment and intervention.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Pengfei Guo
- Department of Child and Adolescent Mental Disorder, Affiliated Psychological Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
| | - Shuwen Hu
- Department of Child and Adolescent Mental Disorder, Affiliated Psychological Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
| | - Xiaolu Jiang
- Department of Child and Adolescent Mental Disorder, Affiliated Psychological Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
| | - Hongyu Zheng
- Department of Child and Adolescent Mental Disorder, Affiliated Psychological Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
| | - Daming Mo
- Department of Child and Adolescent Mental Disorder, Anhui Mental Health Center, Hefei, China
| | - Xiaomei Cao
- Department of Child and Adolescent Mental Disorder, Anhui Mental Health Center, Hefei, China
| | - Jiajia Zhu
- Department of Radiology, First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
| | - Hui Zhong
- Department of Child and Adolescent Mental Disorder, Affiliated Psychological Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China.,Department of Child and Adolescent Mental Disorder, Anhui Mental Health Center, Hefei, China
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Takahashi E, Allan N, Peres R, Ortug A, van der Kouwe AJW, Valli B, Ethier E, Levman J, Baumer N, Tsujimura K, Vargas-Maya NI, McCracken TA, Lee R, Maunakea AK. Integration of structural MRI and epigenetic analyses hint at linked cellular defects of the subventricular zone and insular cortex in autism: Findings from a case study. Front Neurosci 2022; 16:1023665. [PMID: 36817099 PMCID: PMC9935943 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.1023665] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2022] [Accepted: 12/20/2022] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by deficits in social interaction, communication and repetitive, restrictive behaviors, features supported by cortical activity. Given the importance of the subventricular zone (SVZ) of the lateral ventrical to cortical development, we compared molecular, cellular, and structural differences in the SVZ and linked cortical regions in specimens of ASD cases and sex and age-matched unaffected brain. Methods We used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and diffusion tractography on ex vivo postmortem brain samples, which we further analyzed by Whole Genome Bisulfite Sequencing (WGBS), Flow Cytometry, and RT qPCR. Results Through MRI, we observed decreased tractography pathways from the dorsal SVZ, increased pathways from the posterior ventral SVZ to the insular cortex, and variable cortical thickness within the insular cortex in ASD diagnosed case relative to unaffected controls. Long-range tractography pathways from and to the insula were also reduced in the ASD case. FACS-based cell sorting revealed an increased population of proliferating cells in the SVZ of ASD case relative to the unaffected control. Targeted qPCR assays of SVZ tissue demonstrated significantly reduced expression levels of genes involved in differentiation and migration of neurons in ASD relative to the control counterpart. Finally, using genome-wide DNA methylation analyses, we identified 19 genes relevant to neurological development, function, and disease, 7 of which have not previously been described in ASD, that were significantly differentially methylated in autistic SVZ and insula specimens. Conclusion These findings suggest a hypothesis that epigenetic changes during neurodevelopment alter the trajectory of proliferation, migration, and differentiation in the SVZ, impacting cortical structure and function and resulting in ASD phenotypes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Emi Takahashi
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Research, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, United States.,Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Nina Allan
- Epigenomics Research Program, Department of Anatomy, Institute for Biogenesis Research, Biochemistry and Physiology, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI, United States
| | - Rafael Peres
- Epigenomics Research Program, Department of Anatomy, Institute for Biogenesis Research, Biochemistry and Physiology, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI, United States
| | - Alpen Ortug
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Research, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, United States.,Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Andre J W van der Kouwe
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Research, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, United States.,Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Briana Valli
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Elizabeth Ethier
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Jacob Levman
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Research, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, United States.,Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States.,Department of Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science, St. Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, NS, Canada
| | - Nicole Baumer
- Department of Neurology, Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Keita Tsujimura
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Research, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, United States.,Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Nauru Idalia Vargas-Maya
- Epigenomics Research Program, Department of Anatomy, Institute for Biogenesis Research, Biochemistry and Physiology, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI, United States
| | - Trevor A McCracken
- Epigenomics Research Program, Department of Anatomy, Institute for Biogenesis Research, Biochemistry and Physiology, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI, United States
| | - Rosa Lee
- Epigenomics Research Program, Department of Anatomy, Institute for Biogenesis Research, Biochemistry and Physiology, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI, United States
| | - Alika K Maunakea
- Epigenomics Research Program, Department of Anatomy, Institute for Biogenesis Research, Biochemistry and Physiology, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI, United States
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Zhang YJ, Cai XL, Hu HX, Zhang RT, Wang Y, Lui SSY, Cheung EFC, Chan RCK. Social brain network predicts real-world social network in individuals with social anhedonia. Psychiatry Res Neuroimaging 2021; 317:111390. [PMID: 34537603 DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2021.111390] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2021] [Revised: 08/11/2021] [Accepted: 09/08/2021] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Social anhedonia (SA) impairs social functioning in schizophrenia. Previous evidence suggested that certain brain regions predict longitudinal change of real-world social outcomes, yet previous study designs have failed to capture the corresponding functional connectivity among the brain regions involved. This study measured the real-world social network in 22 pairs of individuals with high and low levels of SA, and followed up them for 21 months. We further explored whether resting-state social brain network characteristics could predict the longitudinal variations of real-world social network. Our results showed that social brain network characteristics could predict the change of real-world social networks in both the high SA and low SA groups. However, the results differed between the two groups, i.e., the topological characteristics of the social brain network predicted real-world social network change in the high SA group; whereas the functional connectivity within the social brain network predicted real-world social network change in the low SA group. Principal component analysis and linear regression analysis on the entire sample showed that the functional connectivity component centered at the right orbital inferior frontal gyrus could best predict social network change. Our findings support the notion that social brain network characteristics could predict social network development.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yi-Jing Zhang
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Xin-Lu Cai
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Sino-Danish College, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Hui-Xin Hu
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Rui-Ting Zhang
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yi Wang
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Simon S Y Lui
- Castle Peak Hospital, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China; Department of Psychiatry, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
| | - Eric F C Cheung
- Department of Psychiatry, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
| | - Raymond C K Chan
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
| |
Collapse
|