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Zhang J, Tusuzian E, Morfini F, Bauer CCC, Stone L, Awad A, Shinn AK, Niznikiewicz MA, Whitfield-Gabrieli S. Brain Structural and Functional Neuroimaging Features are Associated With Improved Auditory Hallucinations in Patients With Schizophrenia After Real-Time fMRI Neurofeedback. Depress Anxiety 2025; 2025:2848929. [PMID: 40236821 PMCID: PMC11999755 DOI: 10.1155/da/2848929] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2024] [Accepted: 02/22/2025] [Indexed: 04/17/2025] Open
Abstract
Auditory hallucinations (AHs) are debilitating and often treatment-resistant symptoms of schizophrenia (SZ). Real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) neurofeedback (NFB) is emerging as a flexible brain circuit-based tool for targeting AH via self-modulation of brain activity. A better understanding of what baseline characteristics predict NFB success will enhance its clinical utility. Previous work suggests that AH symptomology implicates measures across multiple modalities, including T1 structural MRI (sMRI), diffusion-weighted MRI (dMRI), and resting-state fMRI (rsfMRI). Specifically, AH severity and treatment response are associated with thinner superior temporal gyrus (STG), thinner dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), reduced white matter integrity in tracts connecting brain regions implicated in SZ symptomatology, increased within-default mode network (DMN) connectivity, and reduced DMN-DLPFC anticorrelation. In this study, we tested the individual and combined contributions of multimodal brain features for the prediction of AH change after NFB in adults (N = 25, 36.1 ± 10.0 years, 24% females) with SZ spectrum disorders (SZ or schizoaffective disorder) and frequent medication-resistant AH. Participants underwent a baseline MRI scan (including sMRI, dMRI, and rsfMRI) and were randomly assigned to receive NFB from their STG (n = 12, real condition) or NFB from their motor cortex (MC) (n = 13, sham condition). NFB success was operationalized as the improvement in AH severity after NFB. We found that higher baseline AH severity, greater STG thickness, decreased dorsal cingulum integrity, increased within-DMN resting-state functional connectivity, and increased DMN-DLPFC anticorrelation were each individually correlated with reduction in AH severity. However, in a combined regression model, DMN-DLPFC connectivity emerged as the only independent variable that explained the unique variance in AH change. These results suggest that a specific rsfMRI measure, namely DMN-DLPFC connectivity, may be a promising predictor of NFB success in reducing AH and support the precision medicine approach. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03504579.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiahe Zhang
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston 02115, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston 02114, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston 02115, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Emma Tusuzian
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston 02115, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Francesca Morfini
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston 02115, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Clemens C. C. Bauer
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston 02115, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge 02139, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Lena Stone
- Psychotic Disorders Division, McLean Hospital, Belmont 02478, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Angelina Awad
- Department of Psychiatry, Boston VA Healthcare System, Boston 02130, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Ann K. Shinn
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston 02115, Massachusetts, USA
- Psychotic Disorders Division, McLean Hospital, Belmont 02478, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Margaret A. Niznikiewicz
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston 02115, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Boston VA Healthcare System, Boston 02130, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Boston VA Research Institute, Boston 02111, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Susan Whitfield-Gabrieli
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston 02115, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston 02114, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston 02115, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge 02139, Massachusetts, USA
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Spark J, Rowe E, Alvarez-Jimenez M, Bell I, Byrne L, Dzafic I, Ellinghaus C, Lavoie S, Lum J, McLean B, Thomas N, Thompson A, Wadley G, Whitford T, Wood S, Yuen HP, Nelson B. Integrating Virtual Reality, Neurofeedback, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Auditory Verbal Hallucinations (Hybrid): Protocol of a Pilot, Unblinded, Single-Arm Interventional Study. JMIR Res Protoc 2025; 14:e63405. [PMID: 40168662 PMCID: PMC12000783 DOI: 10.2196/63405] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2024] [Revised: 10/14/2024] [Accepted: 02/25/2025] [Indexed: 04/03/2025] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Current treatments for schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders have limited efficacy, with high rates of nonresponse to "gold standard" treatments. New approaches are therefore urgently required. OBJECTIVE The aims of this pilot study are to investigate the feasibility, acceptability, safety, and usability of Hybrid treatment (primary aim); and to explore Hybrid's treatment efficacy and engagement of treatment targets (secondary aim). The primary aim will be assessed via face-to-face user experience surveys on a (self-assessed) 5-point Likert scale (and qualitative open-ended questions) examining: (1) acceptability, (2) helpfulness, (3) engagement, and (4) perceived safety. We will also examine consent and completion rates, and the number of sessions attended. Our threshold for moving on to efficacy trials will be at least 70% of our participants to rate 3 and above (which corresponds to agree or strongly agree) that the intervention package was acceptable, feasible, and safe. The secondary aims will be assessed by observing whether individuals achieve self-directed modulation of high-β neurophysiological activity (neural target) and progression upwards through the VR-based exposure hierarchy (psychological target), and by assessing symptom change scores. This study developed a new treatment approach for auditory verbal hallucinations, a major symptom of psychotic disorders, that integrates advances in psychological therapy (cognitive behavioral therapy for psychosis), technology (virtual reality, VR), and neuroscience (electroencephalography-based neurofeedback). METHODS Hybrid takes a "symptom capture" approach using individually tailored VR-based exposure exercises. Participants (N=10) will receive the intervention package weekly over 12 face-to-face sessions. Here, participants will be progressively exposed to symptom triggers and develop methods of downregulating neural activity associated with these symptoms (neurofeedback component) while concurrently receiving clinician-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy for psychosis. RESULTS As of February 2025, Hybrid has commenced (unblinded) recruitment activities from Orygen clinical services in Northwestern Melbourne, Australia. A total of 75 individuals have been approached and 64 individuals have been prescreened (41 individuals were deemed eligible, 15 individuals were ineligible, and 8 individuals declined or did not respond to contact attempts) and 5 individuals have been included in the study. Of the 5 individuals who have commenced the Hybrid treatment, 4 are actively engaged in the program and 1 individual has withdrawn. We expect recruitment to conclude in July 2025 and for the results to be published in 2026. CONCLUSIONS The Hybrid study is piloting a novel approach that has the potential to address the shortcomings of current treatments for psychotic symptoms. If there is favorable evidence for the acceptability, feasibility, safety and usability of Hybrid, the study team will move on to efficacy trials. TRIAL REGISTRATION Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12624000357550; https://tinyurl.com/24ey8hpy. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID) PRR1-10.2196/63405.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica Spark
- Orygen, Parkville, Australia
- Centre for Youth Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
| | - Elise Rowe
- Orygen, Parkville, Australia
- Centre for Youth Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
| | - Mario Alvarez-Jimenez
- Orygen, Parkville, Australia
- Centre for Youth Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
| | - Imogen Bell
- Orygen, Parkville, Australia
- Centre for Youth Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
| | - Linda Byrne
- School of Psychology, Deakin University, Burwood, Australia
- The Cairnmillar Institute, Hawthorn East, Australia
| | - Ilvana Dzafic
- Orygen, Parkville, Australia
- Centre for Youth Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
| | - Carli Ellinghaus
- Orygen, Parkville, Australia
- Centre for Youth Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
| | - Suzie Lavoie
- Orygen, Parkville, Australia
- Centre for Youth Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
| | - Jarrad Lum
- School of Psychology, Deakin University, Burwood, Australia
| | - Brooke McLean
- Orygen, Parkville, Australia
- Centre for Youth Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
| | - Neil Thomas
- Centre for Mental Health and Brain Sciences, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, Australia
| | - Andrew Thompson
- Orygen, Parkville, Australia
- Centre for Youth Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
| | - Greg Wadley
- School of Computing and Information Systems, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
| | - Thomas Whitford
- Orygen, Parkville, Australia
- School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
| | - Stephen Wood
- Orygen, Parkville, Australia
- Centre for Youth Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
- School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, United Kingdom
| | - Hok Pan Yuen
- Orygen, Parkville, Australia
- Centre for Youth Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
| | - Barnaby Nelson
- Orygen, Parkville, Australia
- Centre for Youth Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
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Sun KY, Schmitt JE, Moore TM, Barzilay R, Almasy L, Schultz LM, Mackey AP, Kafadar E, Sha Z, Seidlitz J, Mallard TT, Cui Z, Li H, Fan Y, Fair DA, Satterthwaite TD, Keller AS, Alexander-Bloch A. Polygenic Risk, Psychopathology, and Personalized Functional Brain Network Topography in Adolescence. MEDRXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR HEALTH SCIENCES 2025:2024.09.20.24314007. [PMID: 39399003 PMCID: PMC11469391 DOI: 10.1101/2024.09.20.24314007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/15/2024]
Abstract
Importance Functional brain networks are associated with both behavior and genetic factors. To uncover biological mechanisms of psychopathology, it is critical to define how the spatial organization of these networks relates to genetic risk during development. Objective To determine the relationships among transdiagnostic polygenic risk scores (PRSs), personalized functional brain networks (PFNs), and overall psychopathology (p-factor) during early adolescence. Design The Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study ⍰ is an ongoing longitudinal cohort study of 21 collection sites across the United States. Here, we conduct a cross-sectional analysis of ABCD baseline data, collected 2017-2018. Setting The ABCD Study ® is a multi-site community-based study. Participants The sample is largely recruited through school systems. Exclusion criteria included severe sensory, intellectual, medical, or neurological issues that interfere with protocol and scanner contraindications. Split-half subsets were used for cross-validation, matched on age, ethnicity, family structure, handedness, parental education, site, sex, and anesthesia exposure. Exposures Polygenic risk scores of transdiagnostic genetic factors F1 (PRS-F1) and F2 (PRS-F2) derived from adults in Psychiatric Genomic Consortium and UK Biobanks datasets. PRS-F1 indexes liability for common psychiatric symptoms and disorders related to mood disturbance; PRS-F2 indexes liability for rarer forms of mental illness characterized by mania and psychosis. Main Outcomes and Measures (1) P-factor derived from bifactor models of youth- and parent-reported mental health assessments. (2) Person-specific functional brain network topography derived from functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans. Results Total participants included 11,873 youths ages 9-10 years old; 5,678 (47.8%) were female, and the mean (SD) age was 9.92 (0.62) years. PFN topography was found to be heritable ( N =7,459, 57.1% of vertices h 2 p FDR <0.05, mean h 2 =0.35). PRS-F1 was associated with p-factor ( N =5,815, r =0.12, 95% CI [0.09-0.15], p<0.001). Interindividual differences in functional network topography were associated with p-factor ( N =7,459, mean r =0.12), PRS-F1 ( N =3,982, mean r =0.05), and PRS-F2 ( N =3,982, mean r =0.08). Cortical maps of p-factor and PRS-F1 regression coefficients were highly correlated ( r =0.7, p =0.003). Conclusions and Relevance Polygenic risk for transdiagnostic adulthood psychopathology is associated with both p-factor and heritable PFN topography during early adolescence. These results advance our understanding of the developmental drivers of psychopathology. Key Points Question: What are the relationships among transdiagnostic polygenic risk scores (PRSs), personalized functional brain networks (PFNs), and overall psychopathology (p-factor) during early adolescence?Findings: In this cross-sectional analysis of the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study ⍰ ( N =11,873, ages 9-10), we found that a PRS of common mood-related psychopathology in adulthood (PRS-F1) was associated with p-factor during early adolescence. Interindividual differences in p-factor, PRS-F1, and PRS-F2 (capturing more severe psychotic disorders in adulthood) were all robustly associated with PFN topography. Meaning: Polygenic risk for transdiagnostic adulthood psychopathology is associated with both p-factor and PFN topography during early adolescence.
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Collin G, Goldenberg JE, Chang X, Qi Z, Whitfield-Gabrieli S, Cahn W, Wang J, Stone WS, Keshavan MS, Shenton ME. Brain Markers of Resilience to Psychosis in High-Risk Individuals: A Systematic Review and Label-Based Meta-Analysis of Multimodal MRI Studies. Brain Sci 2025; 15:314. [PMID: 40149835 PMCID: PMC11939873 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci15030314] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2025] [Revised: 02/24/2025] [Accepted: 03/07/2025] [Indexed: 03/29/2025] Open
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Most individuals who have a familial or clinical risk of developing psychosis remain free from psychopathology. Identifying neural markers of resilience in these at-risk individuals may help clarify underlying mechanisms and yield novel targets for early intervention. However, in contrast to studies on risk biomarkers, studies on neural markers of resilience to psychosis are scarce. The current study aimed to identify potential brain markers of resilience to psychosis. Methods: A systematic review of the literature yielded a total of 43 MRI studies that reported resilience-associated brain changes in individuals with an elevated risk for psychosis. Label-based meta-analysis was used to synthesize findings across MRI modalities. Results: Resilience-associated brain changes were significantly overreported in the default mode and language network, and among highly connected and central brain regions. Conclusions: These findings suggest that the DMN and language-associated areas and central brain hubs may be hotspots for resilience-associated brain changes. These neural systems are thus of key interest as targets of inquiry and, possibly, intervention in at-risk populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guusje Collin
- Department of Psychiatry, Radboud University Medical Center, 6525 GA Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, 6525 EN Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Joshua E. Goldenberg
- Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Xiao Chang
- Institute of Science and Technology for Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
- Key Laboratory of Computational Neuroscience and Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Fudan University, Ministry of Education, Shanghai 200433, China
| | - Zhenghan Qi
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA;
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Susan Whitfield-Gabrieli
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Wiepke Cahn
- Department of Psychiatry, University Medical Center Utrecht, 3584 CG Utrecht, The Netherlands
- Altrecht Mental Health Institute, 3512 PG Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Jijun Wang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200030, China
| | - William S. Stone
- Department of Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Matcheri S. Keshavan
- Department of Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Martha E. Shenton
- Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
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Bauer CCC, Zhang J, Morfini F, Hinds O, Wighton P, Lee Y, Stone L, Awad A, Okano K, Hwang M, Hammoud J, Nestor P, Whitfield-Gabrieli S, Shinn AK, Niznikiewicz MA. Real-time fMRI neurofeedback modulates auditory cortex activity and connectivity in schizophrenia patients with auditory hallucinations: A controlled study. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2025:2025.01.13.632809. [PMID: 39868187 PMCID: PMC11761034 DOI: 10.1101/2025.01.13.632809] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2025]
Abstract
Background and Hypothesis We have reported previously a reduction in superior temporal gyrus (STG) activation and in auditory verbal hallucinations (AHs) after real-time fMRI neurofeedback (NFB) in schizophrenia patients with AHs. Study Design With this randomized, participant-blinded, sham-controlled trial, we expanded our previous results. Specifically, we examined neurofeedback effects from the STG, an area associated with auditory hallucinations. The effects were compared to Sham-NFB from the motor cortex, a region unrelated to hallucinations. Twenty-three adults with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder and frequent medication-resistant hallucinations performed mindfulness meditation to ignore pre-recorded stranger's voices while receiving neurofeedback either from the STG (n=10, Real-NFB) or motor cortex (n=13 Sham-NFB). Individuals randomized to Sham-NFB received Real-NFB in a subsequent visit, providing a within-subject 'Real-after-Sham-NFB' comparison. Study Results Both groups showed reduced AHs after NFB, with no group differences. Compared to the Sham-NFB group, the Real-NFB group showed more reduced activation in secondary auditory cortex (AC) and more reduced connectivity between AC and cognitive control regions including dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and anterior cingulate. The connectivity reduction was also observed in the Real-after-Sham-NFB condition. Secondary AC-DLPFC connectivity reduction correlated with hallucination reduction in the Real-NFB group. Replicating prior results, both groups showed reduced primary auditory cortex activation, suggesting mindfulness meditation may regulate bottom-up processes involved in hallucinations. Conclusions Our findings emphasize delivering NFB from brain regions involved in medication-resistant AHs. They provide insights into auditory cortex and cognitive control network interactions, highlighting complex processing dynamics and top-down modulation of sensory information.
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Klein F, Kohl SH, Lührs M, Mehler DMA, Sorger B. From lab to life: challenges and perspectives of fNIRS for haemodynamic-based neurofeedback in real-world environments. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2024; 379:20230087. [PMID: 39428887 PMCID: PMC11513164 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2023.0087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2023] [Revised: 02/09/2024] [Accepted: 02/26/2024] [Indexed: 10/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Neurofeedback allows individuals to monitor and self-regulate their brain activity, potentially improving human brain function. Beyond the traditional electrophysiological approach using primarily electroencephalography, brain haemodynamics measured with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and more recently, functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) have been used (haemodynamic-based neurofeedback), particularly to improve the spatial specificity of neurofeedback. Over recent years, especially fNIRS has attracted great attention because it offers several advantages over fMRI such as increased user accessibility, cost-effectiveness and mobility-the latter being the most distinct feature of fNIRS. The next logical step would be to transfer haemodynamic-based neurofeedback protocols that have already been proven and validated by fMRI to mobile fNIRS. However, this undertaking is not always easy, especially since fNIRS novices may miss important fNIRS-specific methodological challenges. This review is aimed at researchers from different fields who seek to exploit the unique capabilities of fNIRS for neurofeedback. It carefully addresses fNIRS-specific challenges and offers suggestions for possible solutions. If the challenges raised are addressed and further developed, fNIRS could emerge as a useful neurofeedback technique with its own unique application potential-the targeted training of brain activity in real-world environments, thereby significantly expanding the scope and scalability of haemodynamic-based neurofeedback applications.This article is part of the theme issue 'Neurofeedback: new territories and neurocognitive mechanisms of endogenous neuromodulation'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Franziska Klein
- Biomedical Devices and Systems Group, R&D Division Health, OFFIS—Institute for Information Technology, Oldenburg, Germany
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical School, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Simon H. Kohl
- JARA-Institute Molecular Neuroscience and Neuroimaging (INM-11), Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
- Child Neuropsychology Section, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Michael Lührs
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
- Brain Innovation B.V., Research Department, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - David M. A. Mehler
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical School, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
- Institute of Translational Psychiatry, Medical Faculty, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | - Bettina Sorger
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
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Muñoz-Moldes S, Tursic A, Lührs M, Eck J, Benitez Andonegui A, Peters J, Cleeremans A, Goebel R. Online self-evaluation of fMRI-based neurofeedback performance. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2024; 379:20230089. [PMID: 39428884 PMCID: PMC11491843 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2023.0089] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2023] [Revised: 02/29/2024] [Accepted: 06/01/2024] [Indexed: 10/22/2024] Open
Abstract
This study explores the subjective evaluation of supplementary motor area (SMA) regulation performance in a real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging neurofeedback (fMRI-NF) task. In fMRI-NF, people learn how to self-regulate their brain activity by performing mental actions to achieve a certain target level (TL) of blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) activation. Here, we studied two types of self-evaluation: performance predictions and perceived confidence in the prediction judgement. Participants completed three sessions of SMA regulation in a 7 T fMRI scanner, performing a mental drawing task. During each trial, they modulated their imagery strategy to achieve one of two different levels of SMA activation and reported a performance prediction and their confidence in the prediction before receiving delayed BOLD-activation feedback. Results show that participants' performance predictions improved with learning throughout the three sessions, and that these improvements were not driven exclusively by their knowledge of previous performance. Confidence reports on the other hand showed no change throughout training and did not correlate with better and worse predictions. In addition to shedding light on mechanisms of internal self-evaluation during neurofeedback training, these results also point to a dissociation between predictions of performance and confidence reports in the presence of feedback. This article is part of the theme issue 'Neurofeedback: new territories and neurocognitive mechanisms of endogenous neuromodulation'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Santiago Muñoz-Moldes
- Consciousness, Cognition and Computation group, Center for Research in Cognition & Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Education, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Anita Tursic
- Brain Innovation B.V., Research Department, Maastricht, The Netherlands
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Michael Lührs
- Brain Innovation B.V., Research Department, Maastricht, The Netherlands
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Judith Eck
- Brain Innovation B.V., Research Department, Maastricht, The Netherlands
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Amaia Benitez Andonegui
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Judith Peters
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Axel Cleeremans
- Consciousness, Cognition and Computation group, Center for Research in Cognition & Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Education, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Rainer Goebel
- Brain Innovation B.V., Research Department, Maastricht, The Netherlands
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
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Kruse EA, Saxena A, Shovestul BJ, Dudek EM, Reda S, Dong J, Venkataraman A, Lamberti JS, Dodell-Feder D. Training individuals with schizophrenia to gain volitional control of the theory of mind network with real-time fMRI: A pilot study. Schizophr Res Cogn 2024; 38:100329. [PMID: 39290206 PMCID: PMC11406017 DOI: 10.1016/j.scog.2024.100329] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2024] [Revised: 09/02/2024] [Accepted: 09/03/2024] [Indexed: 09/19/2024]
Abstract
Individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSDs) often demonstrate alterations in the Theory of Mind Network (ToM-N). Here, in this proof-of-concept, single-arm pilot study, we investigate whether participants with an SSD (N = 7) were able to learn to volitionally control regions of the ToM-N (dorso/middle/ventromedial prefrontal cortex [D/M/VMPFC], left temporoparietal junction [LTPJ], precuneus [PC], right superior temporal sulcus [RSTS], and right temporoparietal junction [RTPJ]) using real-time fMRI neurofeedback (rtfMRI-NF). Region-of-interest analyses demonstrate that after neurofeedback training, participants were able to gain volitional control in the following ToM-N brain regions during the transfer task, where no active feedback was given: right temporoparietal junction, precuneus, and dorso/ventromedial prefrontal cortex (neurofeedback effect Fs > 6.17, ps < .05). These findings suggest that trained volitional control over the ToM-N is tentatively feasible with rtfMRI neurofeedback in SSD, although findings need to be replicated with more robust designs that include a control group and larger samples.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth A Kruse
- Department of Psychology, University of Rochester, United States of America
| | - Abhishek Saxena
- Department of Psychology, University of Rochester, United States of America
| | | | - Emily M Dudek
- Department of Psychology, University of Houston, United States of America
| | - Stephanie Reda
- Department of Psychology, University of Rochester, United States of America
| | - Jojo Dong
- Department of Psychology, University of Rochester, United States of America
| | - Arun Venkataraman
- School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Rochester Medical Center, United States of America
| | - J Steven Lamberti
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Rochester Medical Center, United States of America
| | - David Dodell-Feder
- Department of Psychology, University of Rochester, United States of America
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Rochester Medical Center, United States of America
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Ortiz-Valladares M, Gonzalez-Perez O, Pedraza-Medina R. Bridging the gap: Prenatal nutrition, myelination, and schizophrenia etiopathogenesis. Neuroscience 2024; 558:58-69. [PMID: 39159841 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2024.08.019] [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: 06/26/2024] [Revised: 08/02/2024] [Accepted: 08/13/2024] [Indexed: 08/21/2024]
Abstract
Schizophrenia (SZ) is a complex mental illness characterized by disturbances in thinking, emotionality, and behavior, significantly impacting the quality of life for individuals affected and those around them. The etiology of SZ involves intricate interactions between genetic and environmental factors, although the precise mechanisms remain incompletely understood. Genetic predisposition, neurotransmitter dysregulation (particularly involving dopamine and serotonin), and structural brain abnormalities, including impaired prefrontal cortex function, have been implicated in SZ development. However, increasing evidence reveals the role of environmental factors, such as nutrition, during critical periods like pregnancy and lactation. Epidemiological studies suggest that early malnutrition significantly increases the risk of SZ symptoms manifesting in late adolescence, a crucial period coinciding with peak myelination and brain maturation. Prenatal undernutrition may disrupt myelin formation, rendering individuals more susceptible to SZ pathology. This review explores the potential relationship between prenatal undernutrition, myelin alterations, and susceptibility to SZ. By delineating the etiopathogenesis, examining genetic and environmental factors associated with SZ, and reviewing the relationship between SZ and myelination disorders, alongside the impact of malnutrition on myelination, we aim to examine how malnutrition might be linked to SZ by altering myelination processes, which contribute to increasing the understanding of SZ etiology and help identify targets for intervention and management.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Oscar Gonzalez-Perez
- Laboratory of Neuroscience, School of Psychology, University of Colima, Colima 28040. México
| | - Ricardo Pedraza-Medina
- Medical Science Postgraduate Program, School of Medicine, University of Colima, Colima 28040. México
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Dhanis H, Gninenko N, Morgenroth E, Potheegadoo J, Rognini G, Faivre N, Blanke O, Van De Ville D. Real-time fMRI neurofeedback modulates induced hallucinations and underlying brain mechanisms. Commun Biol 2024; 7:1120. [PMID: 39261559 PMCID: PMC11391061 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-024-06842-x] [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: 03/04/2024] [Accepted: 09/04/2024] [Indexed: 09/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Hallucinations can occur in the healthy population, are clinically relevant and frequent symptoms in many neuropsychiatric conditions, and have been shown to mark disease progression in patients with neurodegenerative disorders where antipsychotic treatment remains challenging. Here, we combine MR-robotics capable of inducing a clinically-relevant hallucination, with real-time fMRI neurofeedback (fMRI-NF) to train healthy individuals to up-regulate a fronto-parietal brain network associated with the robotically-induced hallucination. Over three days, participants learned to modulate occurrences of and transition probabilities to this network, leading to heightened sensitivity to induced hallucinations after training. Moreover, participants who became sensitive and succeeded in fMRI-NF training, showed sustained and specific neural changes after training, characterized by increased hallucination network occurrences during induction and decreased hallucination network occurrences during a matched control condition. These data demonstrate that fMRI-NF modulates specific hallucination network dynamics and highlights the potential of fMRI-NF as a novel antipsychotic treatment in neurodegenerative disorders and schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Herberto Dhanis
- Neuro-X Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Geneva, Switzerland
- Brain Mind Institute, Faculty of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Nicolas Gninenko
- Neuro-X Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Geneva, Switzerland
- Department of Radiology and Medical Informatics, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
- Department of Neurology, Inselspital, University Hospital of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Elenor Morgenroth
- Neuro-X Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Geneva, Switzerland
- Department of Radiology and Medical Informatics, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Jevita Potheegadoo
- Neuro-X Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Geneva, Switzerland
- Brain Mind Institute, Faculty of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Giulio Rognini
- Neuro-X Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Geneva, Switzerland
- Brain Mind Institute, Faculty of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Nathan Faivre
- Neuro-X Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Geneva, Switzerland
- Brain Mind Institute, Faculty of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, LPNC, Grenoble, France
| | - Olaf Blanke
- Neuro-X Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Geneva, Switzerland.
- Brain Mind Institute, Faculty of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University Hospital of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
| | - Dimitri Van De Ville
- Neuro-X Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Geneva, Switzerland.
- Department of Radiology and Medical Informatics, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
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11
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Turiaco F, Iannuzzo F, Genovese G, Lombardo C, Silvestri MC, Celebre L, Muscatello MRA, Bruno A. Cognitive effects of brief and intensive neurofeedback treatment in schizophrenia: a single center pilot study. AIMS Neurosci 2024; 11:341-351. [PMID: 39431270 PMCID: PMC11486612 DOI: 10.3934/neuroscience.2024021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2024] [Revised: 08/21/2024] [Accepted: 09/02/2024] [Indexed: 10/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Background Schizophrenia is characterized by significant cognitive impairments and affects up to 98% of patients. Neurofeedback (NF) offers a means to modulate neural network function through cognitive processes such as learning and memorization, with documented structural changes in the brain, most notably an increase in grey matter volume in targeted regions. Methods The present 2-week, open-label, preliminary study aims to evaluate the efficacy on cognition of an adjunctive short and intensive (8 daily sessions lasting 30 minutes) alpha/theta NF training in a sample of subjects affected by schizophrenia on stabilized treatment with atypical antipsychotic drugs. The efficacy was measured at baseline and at the end of the study by the Brief Neuropsychological Examination 2 (ENB 2), the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), and the Stroop color-word interference test; the clinical symptoms were assessed using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). Results A final sample of nine patients completed the study. Regarding the cognitive performance, at the final assessment (week 2), the NF treatment significantly improved the performance in the "Story Recall Immediate" (p = 0.024), "Story Recall Delayed" (p = 0.007), "Interference Memory 30 s" (p = 0.024), "Clock Test" (p = 0.014) sub-tests, and the ENB2 Total Score (p = 0.007). Concerning the clinical symptoms, no significant changes were observed in the PANSS subscales and the PANSS Total score. Conclusions NF could represent an adjunctive treatment strategy in the therapeutic toolbox for schizophrenia cognitive symptoms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabrizio Turiaco
- Department of Biomedical and Dental Sciences and Morphofunctional Imaging, University of Messina, Messina, Italy
| | - Fiammetta Iannuzzo
- Department of Biomedical and Dental Sciences and Morphofunctional Imaging, University of Messina, Messina, Italy
| | - Giovanni Genovese
- Psychiatry Unit, Polyclinic Hospital University of Messina, Messina, Italy
| | - Clara Lombardo
- Department "Scienze della Salute", University of Catanzaro, Catanzaro, Italy
| | | | - Laura Celebre
- Department of Mental Health and Addictions, ASST Papa Giovanni XXIII, Bergamo, Italy
| | - Maria Rosaria Anna Muscatello
- Department of Biomedical and Dental Sciences and Morphofunctional Imaging, University of Messina, Messina, Italy
- Psychiatry Unit, Polyclinic Hospital University of Messina, Messina, Italy
| | - Antonio Bruno
- Department of Biomedical and Dental Sciences and Morphofunctional Imaging, University of Messina, Messina, Italy
- Psychiatry Unit, Polyclinic Hospital University of Messina, Messina, Italy
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12
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Morfini F, Bauer CCC, Zhang J, Whitfield-Gabrieli S, Shinn AK, Niznikiewicz MA. Targeting the superior temporal gyrus with real-time fMRI neurofeedback: A pilot study of the indirect effects on self-referential processes in schizophrenia. Schizophr Res 2024; 270:358-365. [PMID: 38968807 PMCID: PMC11531859 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2024.06.036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2023] [Revised: 06/20/2024] [Accepted: 06/22/2024] [Indexed: 07/07/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Individuals with schizophrenia (SZ) and auditory hallucinations (AHs) display a distorted sense of self and self-other boundaries. Alterations of activity in midline cortical structures such as the prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) during self-reference as well as in the superior temporal gyrus (STG) have been proposed as neuromarkers of SZ and AHs. METHODS In this randomized, participant-blinded, sham-controlled trial, 22 adults (18 males) with SZ spectrum disorders (SZ or schizoaffective disorder) and frequent medication-resistant AHs received one session of real-time fMRI neurofeedback (NFB) either from the STG (n = 11; experimental group) or motor cortex (n = 11; control group). During NFB, participants were instructed to upregulate their STG activity by attending to pre-recorded sentences spoken in their own voice and downregulate it by ignoring unfamiliar voices. Before and after NFB, participants completed a self-reference task where they evaluated if trait adjectives referred to themselves (self condition), Abraham Lincoln (other condition), or whether adjectives had a positive valence (semantic condition). FMRI activation analyses of self-reference task data tested between-group changes after NFB (self>semantic, post>pre-NFB, experimental>control). Analyses were pre-masked within a self-reference network. RESULTS Activation analyses revealed significantly (p < 0.001) greater activation increase in the experimental, compared to the control group, after NFB within anterior regions of the self-reference network (mPFC, ACC, superior frontal cortex). CONCLUSIONS STG-NFB was associated with activity increase in the mPFC, ACC, and superior frontal cortex during self-reference. Modulating the STG is associated with activation changes in other, not-directly targeted, regions subserving higher-level cognitive processes associated with self-referential processes and AHs psychopathology in SZ. CLINICALTRIALS GOV: Rt-fMRI Neurofeedback and AH in Schizophrenia; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT03504579.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Morfini
- Northeastern University, Department of Psychology, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
| | - Clemens C C Bauer
- Northeastern University, Department of Psychology, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Jiahe Zhang
- Northeastern University, Department of Psychology, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Susan Whitfield-Gabrieli
- Northeastern University, Department of Psychology, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Harvard Medical School, Department of Psychiatry, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Massachusetts General Hospital, Department of Psychiatry, Boston, MA, USA; Massachusetts Institute of Technology, McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Ann K Shinn
- Harvard Medical School, Department of Psychiatry, Boston, MA 02115, USA; McLean Hospital, Psychotic Disorders Division, Belmont, MA 02478, USA
| | - Margaret A Niznikiewicz
- Harvard Medical School, Department of Psychiatry, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System, Department of Psychiatry, Brockton, MA 02301, USA; Boston VA Research Institute, Boston, MA 02130, USA
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13
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Alahmadi A, Al-Ghamdi J, Tayeb HO. The hidden link: Investigating functional connectivity of rarely explored sub-regions of thalamus and superior temporal gyrus in Schizophrenia. Transl Neurosci 2024; 15:20220356. [PMID: 39669226 PMCID: PMC11635424 DOI: 10.1515/tnsci-2022-0356] [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: 06/17/2024] [Revised: 09/05/2024] [Accepted: 09/17/2024] [Indexed: 12/14/2024] Open
Abstract
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) stands as a pivotal tool in advancing our comprehension of Schizophrenia, offering insights into functional segregations and integrations. Previous investigations employing either task-based or resting-state fMRI primarily focused on large main regions of interest (ROI), revealing the thalamus and superior temporal gyrus (STG) as prominently affected areas. Recent studies, however, unveiled the cytoarchitectural intricacies within these regions, prompting a more nuanced exploration. In this study, resting-state fMRI was conducted on 72 schizophrenic patients and 74 healthy controls to discern whether distinct thalamic nuclei and STG sub-regions exhibit varied functional integrational connectivity to main networks and to identify the most affected sub-regions in Schizophrenia. Employing seed-based analysis, six sub-ROIs - four in the thalamus and two in the STG - were selected. Our findings unveiled heightened positive functional connectivity in Schizophrenic patients, particularly toward the anterior STG (aSTG) and posterior STG (pSTG). Notably, positive connectivity emerged between the medial division of mediodorsal thalamic nuclei (MDm) and the visual network, while increased functional connectivity linked the ventral lateral nucleus of the thalamus with aSTG. This accentuated functional connectivity potentially influences these sub-regions, contributing to dysfunctions and manifesting symptoms such as language and learning difficulties alongside hallucinations. This study underscores the importance of delineating sub-regional dynamics to enhance our understanding of the nuanced neural alterations in Schizophrenia, paving the way for more targeted interventions and therapeutic approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adnan Alahmadi
- Radiologic Sciences Department, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, 21589, Saudi Arabia
| | - Jamaan Al-Ghamdi
- Radiologic Sciences Department, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Haythum O. Tayeb
- Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
- Faculty of Medicine in Rabigh, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
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14
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Donantueno C, Yger P, Cabestaing F, Jardri R. fMRI-based neurofeedback strategies and the way forward to treating phasic psychiatric symptoms. Front Neurosci 2023; 17:1275229. [PMID: 38125404 PMCID: PMC10731299 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1275229] [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: 08/09/2023] [Accepted: 11/17/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH) are the perfect illustration of phasic symptoms in psychiatric disorders. For some patients and in some situations, AVH cannot be relieved by standard therapeutic approaches. More advanced treatments are needed, among which neurofeedback, and more specifically fMRI-based neurofeedback, has been considered. This paper discusses the different possibilities to approach neurofeedback in the specific context of phasic symptoms, by highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of the available neurofeedback options. It concludes with the added value of the recently introduced information-based neurofeedback. Although requiring an online fMRI signal classifier, which can be quite complex to implement, this neurofeedback strategy opens a door toward an alternative treatment option for complex phasic symptomatology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Candela Donantueno
- University of Lille, INSERM U-1172, CHU Lille, Lille Neuroscience & Cognition Center, Plasticity & SubjectivitY Team, Fontan Hospital, Lille, France
| | - Pierre Yger
- University of Lille, INSERM U-1172, CHU Lille, Lille Neuroscience & Cognition Center, Plasticity & SubjectivitY Team, Fontan Hospital, Lille, France
| | | | - Renaud Jardri
- University of Lille, INSERM U-1172, CHU Lille, Lille Neuroscience & Cognition Center, Plasticity & SubjectivitY Team, Fontan Hospital, Lille, France
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15
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Bartal G, Yitzhaky A, Segev A, Hertzberg L. Multiple genes encoding mitochondrial ribosomes are downregulated in brain and blood samples of individuals with schizophrenia. World J Biol Psychiatry 2023; 24:829-837. [PMID: 37158323 DOI: 10.1080/15622975.2023.2211653] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2023] [Accepted: 05/04/2023] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Schizophrenia is a chronic, debilitating mental disorder whose pathophysiology is complex and not fully understood. Numerous studies suggest mitochondrial dysfunction may contribute to the development of schizophrenia. While mitochondrial ribosomes (mitoribosomes) are essential for proper mitochondrial functioning, their gene expression levels have not been studied yet in schizophrenia. METHODS We performed a systematic meta-analysis of the expression of 81 mitoribosomes subunits encoding genes, integrating ten brain samples datasets of patients with schizophrenia compared to healthy controls (overall 422 samples, 211 schizophrenia, and 211 controls). We also performed a meta-analysis of their expression in blood, integrating two blood sample datasets (overall 90 samples, 53 schizophrenia, and 37 controls). RESULTS Multiple mitoribosomes subunits were significantly downregulated in brain samples (18 genes) and in blood samples (11 genes) of individuals with schizophrenia, where two showed significant downregulation in both brain and blood, MRPL4 and MRPS7. CONCLUSIONS Our results support the accumulating evidence of impaired mitochondrial activity in schizophrenia. While further research is needed to validate mitoribosomes' role as biomarkers, this direction has the potential to promote patients' stratification and personalised treatment for schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gideon Bartal
- The Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beersheba, Israel
| | - Assif Yitzhaky
- Department of Physics of Complex Systems, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Aviv Segev
- The Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel
- Shalvata Mental Health Center, Hod Hasharon, Israel
| | - Libi Hertzberg
- Department of Physics of Complex Systems, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
- The Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel
- Shalvata Mental Health Center, Hod Hasharon, Israel
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16
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Hu X, Wang S, Zhou H, Li N, Zhong C, Luo W, Liu S, Fu F, Meng Y, Ding Z, Cheng B. Altered Functional Connectivity Strength in Distinct Brain Networks of Children With Early-Onset Schizophrenia. J Magn Reson Imaging 2023; 58:1617-1623. [PMID: 36932678 DOI: 10.1002/jmri.28682] [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: 11/06/2022] [Revised: 03/05/2023] [Accepted: 03/06/2023] [Indexed: 03/19/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Schizophrenia is regarded as a brain network or connectome disorder that is associated with neurodevelopment. Children with early-onset schizophrenia (EOS) provide an opportunity to evaluate the neuropathology of schizophrenia at a very early stage without potential confounding factors. But dysfunction in brain networks of schizophrenia is inconsistent. PURPOSE To identify abnormal functional connectivity (FC) in EOS patients and relationships with clinical symptoms, we aimed to reveal neuroimaging phenotypes of EOS. STUDY TYPE Prospective, cross-sectional. POPULATION Twenty-six female/22 male patients (age:14.3 ± 3.45 years) with first-episode EOS, 27 female/22 male age- and gender-matched healthy controls (HC) (age:14.1 ± 4.32). FIELD STRENGTH/SEQUENCE 3-T, resting-state (rs) gradient-echo echo-planar imaging and three-dimensional magnetization-prepared rapid gradient-echo imaging. ASSESSMENT Intelligence quotient (IQ) was measured by the Wechsler Intelligence Scale-Fourth edition for Children (WISC-IV). The clinical symptoms were evaluated by the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). FC strength (FCS) from rs functional MRI (rsfMRI) was used to investigate functional integrity of global brain regions. In addition, associations between regionally altered FCS and clinical symptoms in EOS patients were examined. STATISTICAL TESTS Two-sample t-test controlling for sample size, diagnostic method, brain volume algorithm, and age of the subjects, Bonferroni correction, Pearson's correlation analysis. A P-value <0.05 with a minimum cluster size of 50 voxels was considered statistically significant. RESULTS Compared with HC, EOS patients had significantly lower total IQ scores (IQ:91.5 ± 16.1), increased FCS in the bilateral precuneus, left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, left thalamus, and left parahippocampus (paraHIP), and decreased FCS in the right cerebellum posterior lobe and right superior temporal gyrus. The PANSS total score of EOS patients (PANSS total score:74.30 ± 7.23) was found to be positively correlated to FCS in the left paraHIP (r = 0.45). DATA CONCLUSION Our study revealed that disrupted FC of brain hubs illustrate multiple abnormalities in brain networks in EOS patients. EVIDENCE LEVEL 1 TECHNICAL EFFICACY STAGE: 2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiao Hu
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
- Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children (Sichuan University), Ministry of Education, Chengdu, China
| | - Song Wang
- Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Department of Radiology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Hui Zhou
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
- Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children (Sichuan University), Ministry of Education, Chengdu, China
| | - Na Li
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
- Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children (Sichuan University), Ministry of Education, Chengdu, China
| | - Can Zhong
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
- Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children (Sichuan University), Ministry of Education, Chengdu, China
| | - Weiling Luo
- Department of Radiology, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Sijia Liu
- School of Sociality and Psychology, Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu, China
| | - Fanghui Fu
- School of Sociality and Psychology, Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu, China
| | - Yajing Meng
- Mental Health Center and Psychiatric Laboratory, the State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Zhiyong Ding
- Department of Medical Imaging, Qujing Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital, Qujing, China
| | - Bochao Cheng
- Department of Radiology, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
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Su W, Yuan A, Tang Y, Xu L, Wei Y, Wang Y, Li Z, Cui H, Qian Z, Tang X, Hu Y, Zhang T, Feng J, Li Z, Zhang J, Wang J. Effects of polygenic risk of schizophrenia on interhemispheric callosal white matter integrity and frontotemporal functional connectivity in first-episode schizophrenia. Psychol Med 2023; 53:2868-2877. [PMID: 34991756 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291721004840] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [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] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Schizophrenia is a severely debilitating psychiatric disorder with high heritability and polygenic architecture. A higher polygenic risk score for schizophrenia (SzPRS) has been associated with smaller gray matter volume, lower activation, and decreased functional connectivity (FC). However, the effect of polygenic inheritance on the brain white matter microstructure has only been sparsely reported. METHODS Eighty-four patients with first-episode schizophrenia (FES) patients and ninety-three healthy controls (HC) with genetics, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) data were included in our study. We investigated impaired white matter integrity as measured by fractional anisotropy (FA) in the FES group, further examined the effect of SzPRS on white matter FA and FC in the regions connected by SzPRS-related white matter tracts. RESULTS Decreased FA was observed in FES in many commonly identified regions. Among these regions, we observed that in the FES group, but not the HC group, SzPRS was negatively associated with the mean FA in the genu and body of corpus callosum, right anterior corona radiata, and right superior corona radiata. Higher SzPRS was also associated with lower FCs between the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG)-left inferior temporal gyrus (ITG), right IFG-left ITG, right IFG-left middle frontal gyrus (MFG), and right IFG-right MFG in the FES group. CONCLUSION Higher polygenic risks are linked with disrupted white matter integrity and FC in patients with schizophrenia. These correlations are strongly driven by the interhemispheric callosal fibers and the connections between frontotemporal regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenjun Su
- Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200030, China
| | - Aihua Yuan
- Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200030, China
| | - Yingying Tang
- Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200030, China
| | - Lihua Xu
- Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200030, China
| | - Yanyan Wei
- Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200030, China
| | - Yingchan Wang
- Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200030, China
| | - Zhixing Li
- Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200030, China
| | - Huiru Cui
- Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200030, China
| | - Zhenying Qian
- Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200030, China
| | - Xiaochen Tang
- Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200030, China
| | - Yegang Hu
- Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200030, China
| | - Tianhong Zhang
- Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200030, China
| | - Jianfeng Feng
- Institute of Science and Technology for Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
| | - Zhiqiang Li
- Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University & Biomedical Sciences Institute of Qingdao University, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266000, China
- Bio-X Institutes, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders (Ministry of Education), Collaborative Innovation Centre for Brain Science, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Jie Zhang
- Institute of Science and Technology for Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
| | - Jijun Wang
- Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200030, China
- CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Science, Shanghai 200031, China
- Institute of Psychology and Behavioral Science, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
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18
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Impact of low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation on functional network connectivity in schizophrenia patients with auditory verbal hallucinations. Psychiatry Res 2023; 320:114974. [PMID: 36587467 DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2022.114974] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2022] [Revised: 11/10/2022] [Accepted: 11/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH) are a key symptom of schizophrenia. Low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) has shown potential in the treatment of AVH. However, the underlying neural mechanismof rTMS in the treatment of AVH remains largely unknown. In this study, we used a static and dynamic functional network connectivity approach to investigate the connectivity changes among the brain functional networks in schizophrenia patients with AVH receiving 1 Hz rTMS treatment. The static functional network connectivity (sFNC) analysis revealed that patients at baseline had significantly decreased connectivity between the default mode network (DMN) and language network (LAN), and within the executive control network (ECN) as well as within the auditory network (AUD) compared to controls. However, the abnormal network connectivity patterns were normalized or restored after rTMS treatment in patients, instead of increased connectivity between the ECN and LAN, as well as within the AUD. Moreover, the dynamic functional network connectivity (dFNC) analysis showed that the patients at baseline spent more time in this state that was characterized by strongly negative connectivity between the ENC and AUD, as well as within the AUD relative to controls. While after rTMS treatment, the patients showed a higher occurrence rate in this state that was characterized by strongly positive connectivity among the LAN, DMN, and ENC, as well as within the ECN. In addition, the altered static and dynamic connectivity properties were associated with reduced severity of clinical symptoms. Both sFNC and dFNC analyses provided complementary information and suggested that low-frequency rTMS treatment could induce intrinsic functional network alternations and contribute to improvements in clinical symptoms in patients with AVH.
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19
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Pindi P, Houenou J, Piguet C, Favre P. Real-time fMRI neurofeedback as a new treatment for psychiatric disorders: A meta-analysis. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2022; 119:110605. [PMID: 35843369 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2022.110605] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2022] [Revised: 06/12/2022] [Accepted: 07/11/2022] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Abstract
Neurofeedback using real-time functional MRI (RT-fMRI-NF) is an innovative technique that allows to voluntarily modulate a targeted brain response and its associated behavior. Despite promising results in the current literature, its effectiveness on symptoms management in psychiatric disorders is not yet clearly demonstrated. Here, we provide 1) a state-of-art qualitative review of RT-fMRI-NF studies aiming at alleviating clinical symptoms in a psychiatric population; 2) a quantitative evaluation (meta-analysis) of RT-fMRI-NF effectiveness on various psychiatric disorders and 3) methodological suggestions for future studies. Thirty-one clinical trials focusing on psychiatric disorders were included and categorized according to standard diagnostic categories. Among the 31 identified studies, 22 consisted of controlled trials, of which only eight showed significant clinical improvement in the experimental vs. control group after the training. Nine studies found an effect at follow-up on ADHD symptoms, emotion dysregulation, facial emotion processing, depressive symptoms, hallucinations, psychotic symptoms, and specific phobia. Within-group meta-analysis revealed large effects of the NF training on depressive symptoms right after the training (g = 0.81, p < 0.01) and at follow-up (g = 1.19, p < 0.01), as well as medium effects on anxiety (g = 0.44, p = 0.01) and emotion regulation (g = 0.48, p < 0.01). Between-group meta-analysis showed a medium effect on depressive symptoms (g = 0.49, p < 0.01) and a large effect on anxiety (g = 0.77, p = 0.01). However, the between-studies heterogeneity is very high. The use of RT-fMRI-NF as a treatment for psychiatric symptoms is promising, however, further double-blind, multicentric, randomized-controlled trials are warranted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pamela Pindi
- Paris Est Créteil University (UPEC), INSERM U955, IMRB, Translational Neuro-psychiatry Team, AP-HP, DMU IMPACT, Mondor University Hospitals, FondaMental Foundation, F-94010 Créteil, France; Paris-Saclay University, Neurospin, CEA, UNIACT Lab, PsyBrain Team, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Josselin Houenou
- Paris Est Créteil University (UPEC), INSERM U955, IMRB, Translational Neuro-psychiatry Team, AP-HP, DMU IMPACT, Mondor University Hospitals, FondaMental Foundation, F-94010 Créteil, France; Paris-Saclay University, Neurospin, CEA, UNIACT Lab, PsyBrain Team, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France.
| | - Camille Piguet
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Campus Biotech, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Pauline Favre
- Paris Est Créteil University (UPEC), INSERM U955, IMRB, Translational Neuro-psychiatry Team, AP-HP, DMU IMPACT, Mondor University Hospitals, FondaMental Foundation, F-94010 Créteil, France; Paris-Saclay University, Neurospin, CEA, UNIACT Lab, PsyBrain Team, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
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20
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Niznikiewicz MA, Brady RO, Whitfield-Gabrieli S, Keshavan MS, Zhang T, Li H, Pasternak O, Shenton ME, Wang J, Stone WS. Dynamic intervention-based biomarkers may reduce heterogeneity and motivate targeted interventions in clinical high risk for psychosis. Schizophr Res 2022; 246:60-62. [PMID: 35709648 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2022.05.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2021] [Revised: 03/26/2022] [Accepted: 05/06/2022] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- M A Niznikiewicz
- Department of Psychiatry, VA Boston Healthcare System, Brockton Division, Brockton, MA, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - R O Brady
- Department of Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | - M S Keshavan
- Department of Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - T Zhang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, SHARP Program, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - H Li
- Department of Psychology, Florida A&M University, Tallahassee, FL, USA
| | - O Pasternak
- Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - M E Shenton
- Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - J Wang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, SHARP Program, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
| | - W S Stone
- Department of Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
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21
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Paolini M, Keeser D, Rauchmann BS, Gschwendtner S, Jeanty H, Reckenfelderbäumer A, Yaseen O, Reidler P, Rabenstein A, Engelbregt HJ, Maywald M, Blautzik J, Ertl-Wagner B, Pogarell O, Rüther T, Karch S. Correlations Between the DMN and the Smoking Cessation Outcome of a Real-Time fMRI Neurofeedback Supported Exploratory Therapy Approach: Descriptive Statistics on Tobacco-Dependent Patients. Clin EEG Neurosci 2022; 53:287-296. [PMID: 34878329 PMCID: PMC9174614 DOI: 10.1177/15500594211062703] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2021] [Revised: 08/28/2021] [Accepted: 10/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The aim of this study was to explore the potential of default mode network (DMN) functional connectivity for predicting the success of smoking cessation in patients with tobacco dependence in the context of a real-time function al MRI (RT-fMRI) neurofeedback (NF) supported therapy.Fifty-four tobacco-dependent patients underwent three RT-fMRI-NF sessions including resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) runs over a period of 4 weeks during professionally assisted smoking cessation. Patients were randomized into two groups that performed either active NF of an addiction-related brain region or sham NF. After preprocessing, the RSFC baseline data were statistically evaluated using seed-based ROI (SBA) approaches taking into account the smoking status of patients after 3 months (abstinence/relapse).The results of the real study group showed a widespread functional connectivity in the relapse subgroup (n = 10) exceeding the DMN template and mainly low correlations and anticorrelations in the within-seed analysis. In contrast, the connectivity pattern of the abstinence subgroup (n = 8) primarily contained the core DMN in the seed-to-whole-brain analysis and a left lateralized correlation pattern in the within-seed analysis. Calculated Multi-Subject Dictionary Learning (MSDL) matrices showed anticorrelations between DMN regions and salience regions in the abstinence group. Concerning the sham group, results of the relapse subgroup (n = 4) and the abstinence subgroup (n = 6) showed similar trends only in the within-seed analysis.In the setting of a RT-fMRI-NF-assisted therapy, a widespread intrinsic DMN connectivity and a low negative coupling between the DMN and the salience network (SN) in patients with tobacco dependency during early withdrawal may be useful as an early indicator of later therapy nonresponse.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Paolini
- Department of Radiology, University
Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Daniel Keeser
- Department of Radiology, University
Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
- Department of Psychiatry and
Psychotherapy, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Boris-Stephan Rauchmann
- Department of Radiology, University
Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
- Department of Psychiatry and
Psychotherapy, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Sarah Gschwendtner
- Department of Psychiatry and
Psychotherapy, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Hannah Jeanty
- Department of Psychiatry and
Psychotherapy, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Arne Reckenfelderbäumer
- Department of Psychiatry and
Psychotherapy, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Omar Yaseen
- Department of Psychiatry and
Psychotherapy, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Paul Reidler
- Department of Radiology, University
Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Andrea Rabenstein
- Department of Psychiatry and
Psychotherapy, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Hessel Jan Engelbregt
- Department of Psychiatry and
Psychotherapy, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
- Hersencentrum Mental Health Institute, Amsterdam, the
Netherlands
| | - Maximilian Maywald
- Department of Psychiatry and
Psychotherapy, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Janusch Blautzik
- Department of Radiology, University
Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
- Institute for Radiology and Nuclear
Medicine St. Anna, Luzern, Switzerland
| | - Birgit Ertl-Wagner
- Department of Radiology, University
Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
- Division of Neuro-Radiology, The Hospital for Sick Children,
University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Oliver Pogarell
- Department of Psychiatry and
Psychotherapy, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Tobias Rüther
- Department of Psychiatry and
Psychotherapy, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Susanne Karch
- Department of Psychiatry and
Psychotherapy, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
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22
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Kvamme TL, Ros T, Overgaard M. Can neurofeedback provide evidence of direct brain-behavior causality? Neuroimage 2022; 258:119400. [PMID: 35728786 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119400] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2022] [Revised: 06/13/2022] [Accepted: 06/17/2022] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Neurofeedback is a procedure that measures brain activity in real-time and presents it as feedback to an individual, thus allowing them to self-regulate brain activity with effects on cognitive processes inferred from behavior. One common argument is that neurofeedback studies can reveal how the measured brain activity causes a particular cognitive process. The causal claim is often made regarding the measured brain activity being manipulated as an independent variable, similar to brain stimulation studies. However, this causal inference is vulnerable to the argument that other upstream brain activities change concurrently and cause changes in the brain activity from which feedback is derived. In this paper, we outline the inference that neurofeedback may causally affect cognition by indirect means. We further argue that researchers should remain open to the idea that the trained brain activity could be part of a "causal network" that collectively affects cognition rather than being necessarily causally primary. This particular inference may provide a better translation of evidence from neurofeedback studies to the rest of neuroscience. We argue that the recent advent of multivariate pattern analysis, when combined with implicit neurofeedback, currently comprises the strongest case for causality. Our perspective is that although the burden of inferring direct causality is difficult, it may be triangulated using a collection of various methods in neuroscience. Finally, we argue that the neurofeedback methodology provides unique advantages compared to other methods for revealing changes in the brain and cognitive processes but that researchers should remain mindful of indirect causal effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timo L Kvamme
- Cognitive Neuroscience Research Unit, CFIN/MINDLab, Aarhus University, Universitetsbyen 3, Aarhus, Denmark; Centre for Alcohol and Drug Research (CRF), Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
| | - Tomas Ros
- Departments of Neuroscience and Psychiatry, University of Geneva, Campus Biotech, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Morten Overgaard
- Cognitive Neuroscience Research Unit, CFIN/MINDLab, Aarhus University, Universitetsbyen 3, Aarhus, Denmark
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23
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Mourgues C, Hammer A, Fisher V, Kafadar E, Quagan B, Bien C, Jaeger H, Thomas R, Sibarium E, Negreira AM, Sarisik E, Polisetty V, Nur Eken H, Imtiaz A, Niles H, Sheldon AD, Powers AR. Measuring Voluntary Control Over Hallucinations: The Yale Control Over Perceptual Experiences (COPE) Scales. Schizophr Bull 2022; 48:673-683. [PMID: 35089361 PMCID: PMC9077437 DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbab144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
Auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH) frequently cause significant distress and dysfunction, and may be unresponsive to conventional treatments. Some voice-hearers report an ability to fully control the onset and offset of their AVH, making them significantly less disruptive. Measuring and understanding these abilities may lead to novel interventions to enhance control over AVH. Fifty-two voice-hearers participated in the pilot study. 318 participants with frequent AVH participated in the validation study. A pool of 59 items was developed by a diverse team including voice-hearers and clinicians. After the pilot study, 35 items were retained. Factorial structure was assessed with exploratory (EFA, n = 148) and confirmatory (CFA, n = 170) factor analyses. Reliability and convergent validity were assessed using a comprehensive battery of validated phenomenological and clinical scales. CFA on the final 18 items supported two factors for a Methods of Control Scale (5 items each, average ω = .87), and one factor for a Degree of Control Scale (8 items, average ω = .95). Correlation with clinical measures supported convergent validity. Degree of control was associated with positive clinical outcomes in voice-hearers both with and without a psychosis-spectrum diagnosis. Degree of control also varied with quality of life independently of symptom severity and AVH content. The Yale control over perceptual experiences (COPE) Scales robustly measure voice-hearers' control over AVH and exhibit sound psychometric properties. Results demonstrate that the capacity to voluntarily control AVH is independently associated with positive clinical outcomes. Reliable measurement of control over AVH will enable future development of interventions meant to bolster that control.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Eren Kafadar
- Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT,USA
| | | | - Claire Bien
- Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT,USA
| | - Hale Jaeger
- Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT,USA
| | - Rigi Thomas
- Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Ely Sibarium
- Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT,USA
| | | | - Elif Sarisik
- Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Vasishta Polisetty
- Department of Psychiatry, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India
| | - Hatice Nur Eken
- School of Medicine, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Ayyub Imtiaz
- Faculty of Medicine, Health Sciences Center, Kuwait University, Kuwait City, Kuwait
| | - Halsey Niles
- Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT,USA
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24
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Taschereau-Dumouchel V, Cushing C, Lau H. Real-Time Functional MRI in the Treatment of Mental Health Disorders. Annu Rev Clin Psychol 2022; 18:125-154. [DOI: 10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-072220-014550] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Multiple mental disorders have been associated with dysregulation of precise brain processes. However, few therapeutic approaches can correct such specific patterns of brain activity. Since the late 1960s and early 1970s, many researchers have hoped that this feat could be achieved by closed-loop brain imaging approaches, such as neurofeedback, that aim to modulate brain activity directly. However, neurofeedback never gained mainstream acceptance in mental health, in part due to methodological considerations. In this review, we argue that, when contemporary methodological guidelines are followed, neurofeedback is one of the few intervention methods in psychology that can be assessed in double-blind placebo-controlled trials. Furthermore, using new advances in machine learning and statistics, it is now possible to target very precise patterns of brain activity for therapeutic purposes. We review the recent literature in functional magnetic resonance imaging neurofeedback and discuss current and future applications to mental health. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, Volume 18 is May 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vincent Taschereau-Dumouchel
- Department of Psychiatry and Addictology, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada
- Centre de Recherche de l'Institut Universitaire en Santé Mentale de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada
| | - Cody Cushing
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Hakwan Lau
- RIKEN Center for Brain Science, Wakoshi, Saitama, Japan
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25
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Fovet T, Yger P, Lopes R, de Pierrefeu A, Duchesnay E, Houenou J, Thomas P, Szaffarczyk S, Domenech P, Jardri R. Decoding Activity in Broca's Area Predicts the Occurrence of Auditory Hallucinations Across Subjects. Biol Psychiatry 2022; 91:194-201. [PMID: 34742546 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2021.08.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2021] [Revised: 08/19/2021] [Accepted: 08/31/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) capture aims at detecting auditory-verbal hallucinations (AVHs) from continuously recorded brain activity. Establishing efficient capture methods with low computational cost that easily generalize between patients remains a key objective in precision psychiatry. To address this issue, we developed a novel automatized fMRI-capture procedure for AVHs in patients with schizophrenia (SCZ). METHODS We used a previously validated but labor-intensive personalized fMRI-capture method to train a linear classifier using machine learning techniques. We benchmarked the performances of this classifier on 2320 AVH periods versus resting-state periods obtained from SCZ patients with frequent symptoms (n = 23). We characterized patterns of blood oxygen level-dependent activity that were predictive of AVH both within and between subjects. Generalizability was assessed with a second independent sample gathering 2000 AVH labels (n = 34 patients with SCZ), while specificity was tested with a nonclinical control sample performing an auditory imagery task (840 labels, n = 20). RESULTS Our between-subject classifier achieved high decoding accuracy (area under the curve = 0.85) and discriminated AVH from rest and verbal imagery. Optimizing the parameters on the first schizophrenia dataset and testing its performance on the second dataset led to an out-of-sample area under the curve of 0.85 (0.88 for the converse test). We showed that AVH detection critically depends on local blood oxygen level-dependent activity patterns within Broca's area. CONCLUSIONS Our results demonstrate that it is possible to reliably detect AVH states from fMRI blood oxygen level-dependent signals in patients with SCZ using a multivariate decoder without performing complex preprocessing steps. These findings constitute a crucial step toward brain-based treatments for severe drug-resistant hallucinations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Fovet
- Plasticity & SubjectivitY team, Lille Neuroscience & Cognition Research Centre, University of Lille, INSERM U1172, Lille, France; CURE platform, Psychiatry Department, Fontan Hospital, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Lille, Lille, France; Centre National de Ressources et de Résilience Lille-Paris, France
| | - Pierre Yger
- Plasticity & SubjectivitY team, Lille Neuroscience & Cognition Research Centre, University of Lille, INSERM U1172, Lille, France; Institut de la Vision, Sorbonne Université, INSERM, Centre national de la recherche scientifique, Paris, France
| | - Renaud Lopes
- Vascular & Cognitive Deficits team, Lille Neuroscience & Cognition Research Centre, University of Lille, INSERM U1172, Lille, France; In-vivo Imaging and Functions core facility, Neuroradiology Department, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Lille, Lille, France
| | | | | | - Josselin Houenou
- NeuroSpin, Univ Paris Saclay, CEA, Gif-sur-Yvette, France; Neurosurgery, Psychiatry and Addictology Departments, Groupe Hospitalier Universitaire Henri-Mondor, AP-HP, Créteil, France; Faculté de Santé UPEC, Université Paris Est Créteil, Créteil, France
| | - Pierre Thomas
- Plasticity & SubjectivitY team, Lille Neuroscience & Cognition Research Centre, University of Lille, INSERM U1172, Lille, France; CURE platform, Psychiatry Department, Fontan Hospital, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Lille, Lille, France
| | - Sébastien Szaffarczyk
- Plasticity & SubjectivitY team, Lille Neuroscience & Cognition Research Centre, University of Lille, INSERM U1172, Lille, France
| | - Philippe Domenech
- Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle épinière, Sorbonne Université, INSERM, Centre national de la recherche scientifique, Paris, France; Neurosurgery, Psychiatry and Addictology Departments, Groupe Hospitalier Universitaire Henri-Mondor, AP-HP, Créteil, France; Faculté de Santé UPEC, Université Paris Est Créteil, Créteil, France
| | - Renaud Jardri
- Plasticity & SubjectivitY team, Lille Neuroscience & Cognition Research Centre, University of Lille, INSERM U1172, Lille, France; CURE platform, Psychiatry Department, Fontan Hospital, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Lille, Lille, France.
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26
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Ma L, Yuan T, Li W, Guo L, Zhu D, Wang Z, Liu Z, Xue K, Wang Y, Liu J, Man W, Ye Z, Liu F, Wang J. Dynamic Functional Connectivity Alterations and Their Associated Gene Expression Pattern in Autism Spectrum Disorders. Front Neurosci 2022; 15:794151. [PMID: 35082596 PMCID: PMC8784878 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2021.794151] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2021] [Accepted: 12/16/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are a group of heterogeneous neurodevelopmental disorders that are highly heritable and are associated with impaired dynamic functional connectivity (DFC). However, the molecular mechanisms behind DFC alterations remain largely unknown. Eighty-eight patients with ASDs and 87 demographically matched typical controls (TCs) from the Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange II database were included in this study. A seed-based sliding window approach was then performed to investigate the DFC changes in each of the 29 seeds in 10 classic resting-state functional networks and the whole brain. Subsequently, the relationships between DFC alterations in patients with ASDs and their symptom severity were assessed. Finally, transcription-neuroimaging association analyses were conducted to explore the molecular mechanisms of DFC disruptions in patients with ASDs. Compared with TCs, patients with ASDs showed significantly increased DFC between the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and left fusiform/lingual gyrus, between the DLPFC and the superior temporal gyrus, between the right frontal eye field (FEF) and left middle frontal gyrus, between the FEF and the right angular gyrus, and between the left intraparietal sulcus and the right middle temporal gyrus. Moreover, significant relationships between DFC alterations and symptom severity were observed. Furthermore, the genes associated with DFC changes in ASDs were identified by performing gene-wise across-sample spatial correlation analysis between gene expression extracted from six donors’ brain of the Allen Human Brain Atlas and case-control DFC difference. In enrichment analysis, these genes were enriched for processes associated with synaptic signaling and voltage-gated ion channels and calcium pathways; also, these genes were highly expressed in autistic disorder, chronic alcoholic intoxication and several disorders related to depression. These results not only demonstrated higher DFC in patients with ASDs but also provided novel insight into the molecular mechanisms underlying these alterations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lin Ma
- Department of Radiology and Tianjin Key Laboratory of Functional Imaging, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China
| | - Tengfei Yuan
- Department of Radiology and Tianjin Key Laboratory of Functional Imaging, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China
| | - Wei Li
- Department of Radiology, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy, Tianjin’s Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Tianjin, China
| | - Lining Guo
- Department of Radiology and Tianjin Key Laboratory of Functional Imaging, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China
| | - Dan Zhu
- Department of Radiology and Tianjin Key Laboratory of Functional Imaging, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China
- Department of Radiology, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital Airport Hospital, Tianjin, China
| | - Zirui Wang
- Department of Radiology and Tianjin Key Laboratory of Functional Imaging, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China
| | - Zhixuan Liu
- Department of Radiology and Tianjin Key Laboratory of Functional Imaging, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China
| | - Kaizhong Xue
- Department of Radiology and Tianjin Key Laboratory of Functional Imaging, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China
| | - Yaoyi Wang
- Department of Radiology and Tianjin Key Laboratory of Functional Imaging, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China
| | - Jiawei Liu
- Department of Radiology and Tianjin Key Laboratory of Functional Imaging, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China
| | - Weiqi Man
- Department of Radiology and Tianjin Key Laboratory of Functional Imaging, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China
| | - Zhaoxiang Ye
- Department of Radiology, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy, Tianjin’s Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Tianjin, China
- *Correspondence: Zhaoxiang Ye,
| | - Feng Liu
- Department of Radiology and Tianjin Key Laboratory of Functional Imaging, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China
- Feng Liu,
| | - Junping Wang
- Department of Radiology and Tianjin Key Laboratory of Functional Imaging, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China
- Junping Wang,
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27
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Strawson WH, Wang HT, Quadt L, Sherman M, Larsson DEO, Davies G, Mckeown BLA, Silva M, Fielding-Smith S, Jones AM, Hayward M, Smallwood J, Critchley HD, Garfinkel SN. Voice Hearing in Borderline Personality Disorder Across Perceptual, Subjective, and Neural Dimensions. Int J Neuropsychopharmacol 2021; 25:375-386. [PMID: 34940826 PMCID: PMC9154289 DOI: 10.1093/ijnp/pyab093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2021] [Revised: 11/24/2021] [Accepted: 12/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH) commonly occur in the context of borderline personality disorder (BPD) yet remain poorly understood. AVH are often perceived by patients with BPD as originating from inside the head and hence viewed clinically as "pseudohallucinations," but they nevertheless have a detrimental impact on well-being. METHODS The current study characterized perceptual, subjective, and neural expressions of AVH by using an auditory detection task, experience sampling and questionnaires, and functional neuroimaging, respectively. RESULTS Perceptually, reported AVH correlated with a bias for reporting the presence of a voice in white noise. Subjectively, questionnaire measures indicated that AVH were significantly distressing and persecutory. In addition, AVH intensity, but not perceived origin (i.e., inside vs outside the head), was associated with greater concurrent anxiety. Neurally, fMRI of BPD participants demonstrated that, relative to imagining or listening to voices, periods of reported AVH induced greater blood oxygenation level-dependent activity in anterior cingulate and bilateral temporal cortices (regional substrates for language processing). AVH symptom severity was associated with weaker functional connectivity between anterior cingulate and bilateral insular cortices. CONCLUSION In summary, our results indicate that AVH in participants with BPD are (1) underpinned by aberrant perceptual-cognitive mechanisms for signal detection, (2) experienced subjectively as persecutory and distressing, and (3) associated with distinct patterns of neural activity that inform proximal mechanistic understanding. Our findings are like analogous observations in patients with schizophrenia and validate the clinical significance of the AVH experience in BPD, often dismissed as "pseudohallucinations." These highlight a need to reconsider this experience as a treatment priority.
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Affiliation(s)
- Will H Strawson
- Correspondence: Will H. Strawson, MSci, Department of Neuroscience, Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS), University of Sussex, Falmer, BN1 9RY, UK ()
| | - Hao-Ting Wang
- Department of Neuroscience, Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS), University of Sussex, Falmer, UK,Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science, Falmer, UK
| | - Lisa Quadt
- Department of Neuroscience, Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS), University of Sussex, Falmer, UK,Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science, Falmer, UK
| | - Maxine Sherman
- Department of Neuroscience, Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS), University of Sussex, Falmer, UK,Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science, Falmer, UK,Department of Informatics, University of Sussex, UK
| | - Dennis E O Larsson
- Department of Neuroscience, Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS), University of Sussex, Falmer, UK,Department of Psychology, Falmer, UK,Leverhulme Trust London, UK
| | - Geoff Davies
- Department of Neuroscience, Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS), University of Sussex, Falmer, UK,University of Sussex, Falmer, UK,Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, Brighton, UK
| | | | - Marta Silva
- Cognition and Brain Plasticity Unit, Barcelona, Catalunya, Spain,Institute of Neurosciences, University of Barcelona, Catalunya, Spain
| | - Sarah Fielding-Smith
- University of Sussex, Falmer, UK,Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, Brighton, UK,Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, UK,Oxford Institute of Clinical Psychology Training and Research, Oxford, UK
| | - Anna-Marie Jones
- University of Sussex, Falmer, UK,Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, Brighton, UK
| | - Mark Hayward
- Department of Psychology, Falmer, UK,University of Sussex, Falmer, UK,Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, Brighton, UK
| | - Jonathan Smallwood
- Department of Psychology, University of York, York, UK,Department of Psychology, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, Canada
| | - Hugo D Critchley
- Department of Neuroscience, Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS), University of Sussex, Falmer, UK,Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science, Falmer, UK,University of Sussex, Falmer, UK,Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, Brighton, UK
| | - Sarah N Garfinkel
- Department of Neuroscience, Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS), University of Sussex, Falmer, UK,University of Sussex, Falmer, UK,Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, Brighton, UK,Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK
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28
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Cerebellar involvement in hallucinations may transcend clinical conditions and perceptual modalities. Cortex 2021; 143:290-294. [PMID: 34456035 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2021.07.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2021] [Accepted: 07/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Our recent neuroimaging study identified structural differences in cerebellar subfields linked to cortical attentional networks in patients with eye disease or Parkinson's disease who experience visual hallucinations and a commentary on the study by Zorzi et al. provided additional evidence of functional cerebellar changes in Dementia with Lewy bodies. Here, we review evidence for cerebellar involvement in hallucinations across multiple clinical conditions and sensory modalities as well as examine its wider clinical and mechanistic implications. The combined structural and functional evidence is consistent with two models of cerebellar contribution to hallucination which differ in their implied direction of cause, effect and temporal sequence. Additionally, we contend that the relatively neuroanatomically localised nature of the cerebellum makes it particularly suited to identifying changes affecting distributed cortical networks using imaging techniques. As such, cerebellar subfield differences may offer value as candidate prognostic and predictive biomarkers as well as targets for neuromodulatory treatment across a range of clinical conditions.
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Wurz A, Ayson G, Smith AM, Brunet J. A proof-of-concept sub-study exploring feasibility and preliminary evidence for the role of physical activity on neural activity during executive functioning tasks among young adults after cancer treatment. BMC Neurol 2021; 21:300. [PMID: 34344355 PMCID: PMC8336393 DOI: 10.1186/s12883-021-02280-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2021] [Accepted: 06/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Executive functioning (EF) deficits are troubling for adolescents and young adults (AYAs) after cancer treatment. Physical activity (PA) may enhance neural activity underlying EF among older adults affected by cancer. Establishing whether PA enhances neural activity among AYAs is warranted. As part of a two-arm, mixed-methods pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT), this proof-of-concept sub-study sought to answer the following questions: (1) is it feasible to use neuroimaging with EF tasks to assess neural activity changes following a 12-week PA intervention? And (2) is there preliminary evidence that a 12-week PA intervention enhances neural activity among AYAs after cancer treatment? Methods AYAs in the pilot RCT were approached for enrollment into this sub-study. Those who were eligible and enrolled, completed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) with EF tasks (letter n-back, Go/No Go) pre- and post-PA intervention. Sub-study enrollment, adherence to scheduled fMRI scans, outliers, missing data, and EF task performance data were collected. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) analyses, and paired sample t-tests. Results Nine eligible participants enrolled into this sub-study; six attended scheduled fMRI scans. One outlier was identified and was subsequently removed from the analytical sample. Participants showed no differences in EF task performance from pre- to post-PA intervention. Increases in neural activity in brain regions responsible for motor control, information encoding and processing, and decision-making were observed post-PA intervention (p < 0.05; n = 5). Conclusions Findings show that fMRI scans during EF tasks detected neural activity changes (as assessed by the BOLD signal) from pre- to post-PA intervention. Results thus suggest future trials confirming that PA enhances neural activity underlying EF are needed, though feasibility issues require careful consideration to ensure trial success. Trial registration clinicaltrials.gov, NCT03016728. Registered January 11, 2017, clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03016728. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12883-021-02280-y.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda Wurz
- School of Human Kinetics, University of Ottawa, 125 University Private, Montpetit Hall, Room 339, K1N 6N5, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.,Present affiliation: Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Calgary, Alberta, Calgary, Canada
| | - Gladys Ayson
- School of Psychology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Andra M Smith
- School of Psychology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Jennifer Brunet
- School of Human Kinetics, University of Ottawa, 125 University Private, Montpetit Hall, Room 339, K1N 6N5, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. .,Cancer Therapeutic Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, The Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. .,Institut du savoir Montfort, Hôpital Montfort, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
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30
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Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW To provide recent evidence on real-time neurofeedback (NFB) training for auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH) in schizophrenia patients. RECENT FINDINGS NFB is a promising technique that allows patients to gain control over their AVH by modulating their own speech-related/language-related networks including superior temporal gyrus (STG) and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) using fMRI, fNIRS and EEG/MEG. A recent limited number of studies showed that while an EEG-based NFB study failed to regulate auditory-evoked potentials and reduce AVH, downregulation of STG hyperactivity and upregulation of ACC activity with fMRI-based NFB appear to alleviate treatment-resistant AVH in schizophrenia patients. A deeper understanding of AVH and development of more effective methodologies are still needed. SUMMARY Despite recent innovations in antipsychotics, many schizophrenia patients continue to suffer from treatment-resistant AVH and social dysfunctions. Recent studies suggested that real-time NFB shows promise in enabling patients to gain control over AVH by regulating their own speech-related/language-related networks. Although fMRI-NFB is suitable for regulating localized activity, EEG/MEG-NFB are ideal for regulating the ever-changing AVH. Although there are still many challenges including logistic complexity and burden on patients, we hope that such innovative real-time NFB trainings will help patients to alleviate severe symptoms and improve social functioning.
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31
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Kim NY, Hsu J, Talmasov D, Joutsa J, Soussand L, Wu O, Rost NS, Morenas-Rodríguez E, Martí-Fàbregas J, Pascual-Leone A, Corlett PR, Fox MD. Lesions causing hallucinations localize to one common brain network. Mol Psychiatry 2021; 26:1299-1309. [PMID: 31659272 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-019-0565-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2019] [Revised: 09/26/2019] [Accepted: 10/17/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
The brain regions responsible for hallucinations remain unclear. We studied 89 brain lesions causing hallucinations using a recently validated technique termed lesion network mapping. We found that hallucinations occurred following lesions to a variety of different brain regions, but these lesion locations fell within a single functionally connected brain network. This network was defined by connectivity to the cerebellar vermis, inferior cerebellum (bilateral lobule X), and the right superior temporal sulcus. Within this single hallucination network, additional connections with the lesion location dictated the sensory modality of the hallucination: lesions causing visual hallucinations were connected to the lateral geniculate nucleus in the thalamus while lesions causing auditory hallucinations were connected to the dentate nucleus in the cerebellum. Our results suggest that lesions causing hallucinations localize to a single common brain network, but additional connections within this network dictate the sensory modality, lending insight into the causal neuroanatomical substrate of hallucinations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Na Young Kim
- Department and Research Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea. .,Berenson-Allen Center for Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation and Division of Cognitive Neurology, Department of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
| | - Joey Hsu
- Berenson-Allen Center for Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation and Division of Cognitive Neurology, Department of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Daniel Talmasov
- Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.,Department of Neurology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Juho Joutsa
- Berenson-Allen Center for Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation and Division of Cognitive Neurology, Department of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.,Turku Brain and Mind Center, Department of Neurology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland.,Division of Clinical Neurosciences, Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland
| | - Louis Soussand
- Berenson-Allen Center for Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation and Division of Cognitive Neurology, Department of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Ona Wu
- Athinoula A. Martinos Centre for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Natalia S Rost
- J. Philip Kistler Stroke Research Center, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Estrella Morenas-Rodríguez
- Department of Neurology, Biomedical Research Institute (IIB Sant Pau), Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau (HSCSP), Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.,German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) Munich, Munich, Germany.,Chair of Metabolic Biochemistry, Biomedical Center (BMC), Faculty of Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Joan Martí-Fàbregas
- Department of Neurology, Biomedical Research Institute (IIB Sant Pau), Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau (HSCSP), Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Alvaro Pascual-Leone
- Berenson-Allen Center for Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation and Division of Cognitive Neurology, Department of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.,Institut Guttmann de Neurorehabilitació, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Badalona, Spain
| | - Philip R Corlett
- Department of Psychiatry, Clinical Neuroscience Research Unit, Connecticut Mental Health Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Michael D Fox
- Berenson-Allen Center for Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation and Division of Cognitive Neurology, Department of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. .,Athinoula A. Martinos Centre for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA.
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32
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Russo AG, Lührs M, Di Salle F, Esposito F, Goebel R. Towards semantic fMRI neurofeedback: navigating among mental states using real-time representational similarity analysis. J Neural Eng 2021; 18. [PMID: 33684900 DOI: 10.1088/1741-2552/abecc3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2020] [Accepted: 03/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Objective. Real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging neurofeedback (rt-fMRI-NF) is a non-invasive MRI procedure allowing examined participants to learn to self-regulate brain activity by performing mental tasks. A novel two-step rt-fMRI-NF procedure is proposed whereby the feedback display is updated in real-time based on high-level representations of experimental stimuli (e.g. objects to imagine) via real-time representational similarity analysis of multi-voxel patterns of brain activity.Approach. In a localizer session, the stimuli become associated with anchored points on a two-dimensional representational space where distances approximate between-pattern (dis)similarities. In the NF session, participants modulate their brain response, displayed as a movable point, to engage in a specific neural representation. The developed method pipeline is verified in a proof-of-concept rt-fMRI-NF study at 7 T involving a single healthy participant imagining concrete objects. Based on this data and artificial data sets with similar (simulated) spatio-temporal structure and variable (injected) signal and noise, the dependence on noise is systematically assessed.Main results. The participant in the proof-of-concept study exhibited robust activation patterns in the localizer session and managed to control the neural representation of a stimulus towards the selected target in the NF session. The offline analyses validated the rt-fMRI-NF results, showing that the rapid convergence to the target representation is noise-dependent.Significance. Our proof-of-concept study introduces a new NF method allowing the participant to navigate among different mental states. Compared to traditional NF designs (e.g. using a thermometer display to set the level of the neural signal), the proposed approach provides content-specific feedback to the participant and extra degrees of freedom to the experimenter enabling real-time control of the neural activity towards a target brain state without suggesting a specific mental strategy to the subject.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea G Russo
- Department of Political and Communication Sciences, University of Salerno, Fisciano (Salerno), Italy.,Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry, Scuola Medica Salernitana, University of Salerno, Baronissi (Salerno), Italy
| | - Michael Lührs
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Maastricht, Maastricht, The Netherlands.,Brain Innovation B.V., Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Francesco Di Salle
- Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry, Scuola Medica Salernitana, University of Salerno, Baronissi (Salerno), Italy
| | - Fabrizio Esposito
- Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry, Scuola Medica Salernitana, University of Salerno, Baronissi (Salerno), Italy.,Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Maastricht, Maastricht, The Netherlands.,Department of Advanced Medical and Surgical Sciences,University of Campania 'Luigi Vanvitelli', Napoli,Italy
| | - Rainer Goebel
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Maastricht, Maastricht, The Netherlands.,Brain Innovation B.V., Maastricht, The Netherlands
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33
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Dudek E, Dodell-Feder D. The efficacy of real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging neurofeedback for psychiatric illness: A meta-analysis of brain and behavioral outcomes. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2021; 121:291-306. [PMID: 33370575 PMCID: PMC7856210 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.12.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2020] [Revised: 12/01/2020] [Accepted: 12/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging neurofeedback (rtfMRI-NF) has gained popularity as an experimental treatment for a variety of psychiatric illnesses. However, there has yet to be a quantitative review regarding its efficacy. Here, we present the first meta-analysis of rtfMRI-NF for psychiatric disorders, evaluating its impact on brain and behavioral outcomes. Our literature review identified 17 studies and 105 effect sizes across brain and behavioral outcomes. We find that rtfMRI-NF produces a medium-sized effect on neural activity during training (g = .59, 95 % CI [.44, .75], p < .0001), a large-sized effect after training when no neurofeedback is provided (g = .84, 95 % CI [.37, 1.31], p = .005), and small-sized effects for behavioral outcomes (symptoms g = .37, 95 % CI [.16, .58], p = .002; cognition g = .23, 95 % CI [-.33, .78], p = .288). Mixed-effects analyses revealed few moderators. Together, these data suggest a positive impact of rtfMRI-NF on brain and behavioral outcomes, although more research is needed to determine how rtfMRI-NF works, for whom, and under what circumstances.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily Dudek
- Department of Psychology, University of Rochester, United States
| | - David Dodell-Feder
- Department of Psychology, University of Rochester, United States; Department of Neuroscience, University of Rochester Medical Center, United States.
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34
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Tong J, Zhou Y, Huang J, Zhang P, Fan F, Chen S, Tian B, Cui Y, Tian L, Tan S, Wang Z, Feng W, Yang F, Hare S, Goldwaser EL, Bruce HA, Kvarta M, Chen S, Kochunov P, Tan Y, Hong LE. N-methyl-D-aspartate Receptor Antibody and White Matter Deficits in Schizophrenia Treatment-Resistance. Schizophr Bull 2021; 47:1463-1472. [PMID: 33515249 PMCID: PMC8379535 DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbab003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Insufficient or lack of response to antipsychotic medications in some patients with schizophrenia is a major challenge in psychiatry, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Two seemingly unrelated observations, cerebral white matter and N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) hypofunction, have been linked to treatment-resistant schizophrenia (TRS). As NMDARs are critical to axonal myelination and signal transduction, we hypothesized that NMDAR antibody (Ab), when present in schizophrenia, may impair NMDAR functions and white matter microstructures, contributing to TRS. In this study, 50 patients with TRS, 45 patients with nontreatment-resistant schizophrenia (NTRS), 53 patients with schizophrenia at treatment initiation schizophrenia (TIS), and 90 healthy controls were enrolled. Serum NMDAR Ab levels and white matter diffusion tensor imaging fractional anisotropy (FA) were assessed. The white matter specificity effects by NMDAR Ab were assessed by comparing with effects on cortical and subcortical gray matter. Serum NMDAR Ab levels of the TRS were significantly higher than those of the NTRS (P = .035). In patients with TRS, higher NMDAR Ab levels were significantly associated with reduced whole-brain average FA (r = -.37; P = .026), with the strongest effect at the genu of corpus callosum (r = -.50; P = .0021, significant after correction for multiple comparisons). Conversely, there was no significant correlation between whole-brain or regional cortical thickness or any subcortical gray matter structural volume and NMDAR Ab levels in TRS. Our finding highlights a potential NMDAR mechanism on white matter microstructure impairment in schizophrenia that may contribute to their treatment resistance to antipsychotic medications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinghui Tong
- Peking University HuiLongGuan Clinical Medical School, Beijing Huilongguan Hospital, Beijing, P. R. China
| | - Yanfang Zhou
- Peking University HuiLongGuan Clinical Medical School, Beijing Huilongguan Hospital, Beijing, P. R. China
| | - Junchao Huang
- Peking University HuiLongGuan Clinical Medical School, Beijing Huilongguan Hospital, Beijing, P. R. China
| | - Ping Zhang
- Peking University HuiLongGuan Clinical Medical School, Beijing Huilongguan Hospital, Beijing, P. R. China
| | - Fengmei Fan
- Peking University HuiLongGuan Clinical Medical School, Beijing Huilongguan Hospital, Beijing, P. R. China
| | - Song Chen
- Peking University HuiLongGuan Clinical Medical School, Beijing Huilongguan Hospital, Beijing, P. R. China
| | - Baopeng Tian
- Peking University HuiLongGuan Clinical Medical School, Beijing Huilongguan Hospital, Beijing, P. R. China
| | - Yimin Cui
- Department of Pharmacy, Peking University First Hospital, Beijing, P. R. China
| | - Li Tian
- Institute of Biomedicine and Translational Medicine, Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Shuping Tan
- Peking University HuiLongGuan Clinical Medical School, Beijing Huilongguan Hospital, Beijing, P. R. China
| | - Zhiren Wang
- Peking University HuiLongGuan Clinical Medical School, Beijing Huilongguan Hospital, Beijing, P. R. China
| | - Wei Feng
- Peking University HuiLongGuan Clinical Medical School, Beijing Huilongguan Hospital, Beijing, P. R. China
| | - Fude Yang
- Peking University HuiLongGuan Clinical Medical School, Beijing Huilongguan Hospital, Beijing, P. R. China
| | - Stephanie Hare
- Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Eric L Goldwaser
- Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Heather A Bruce
- Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Mark Kvarta
- Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Shuo Chen
- Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Peter Kochunov
- Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Yunlong Tan
- Peking University HuiLongGuan Clinical Medical School, Beijing Huilongguan Hospital, Beijing, P. R. China,To whom correspondence should be addressed; tel: +86-(10)-83024319, fax: +86-(10)-62710156, e-mail:
| | - L Elliot Hong
- Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
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35
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Baqapuri HI, Roes LD, Zvyagintsev M, Ramadan S, Keller M, Roecher E, Zweerings J, Klasen M, Gur RC, Mathiak K. A Novel Brain-Computer Interface Virtual Environment for Neurofeedback During Functional MRI. Front Neurosci 2021; 14:593854. [PMID: 33505237 PMCID: PMC7830095 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2020.593854] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2020] [Accepted: 12/01/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Virtual environments (VEs), in the recent years, have become more prevalent in neuroscience. These VEs can offer great flexibility, replicability, and control over the presented stimuli in an immersive setting. With recent developments, it has become feasible to achieve higher-quality visuals and VEs at a reasonable investment. Our aim in this project was to develop and implement a novel real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging (rt-fMRI)-based neurofeedback (NF) training paradigm, taking into account new technological advances that allow us to integrate complex stimuli into a visually updated and engaging VE. We built upon and developed a first-person shooter in which the dynamic change of the VE was the feedback variable in the brain-computer interface (BCI). We designed a study to assess the feasibility of the BCI in creating an immersive VE for NF training. In a randomized single-blinded fMRI-based NF-training session, 24 participants were randomly allocated into one of two groups: active and reduced contingency NF. All participants completed three runs of the shooter-game VE lasting 10 min each. Brain activity in a supplementary motor area region of interest regulated the possible movement speed of the player's avatar and thus increased the reward probability. The gaming performance revealed that the participants were able to actively engage in game tasks and improve across sessions. All 24 participants reported being able to successfully employ NF strategies during the training while performing in-game tasks with significantly higher perceived NF control ratings in the NF group. Spectral analysis showed significant differential effects on brain activity between the groups. Connectivity analysis revealed significant differences, showing a lowered connectivity in the NF group compared to the reduced contingency-NF group. The self-assessment manikin ratings showed an increase in arousal in both groups but failed significance. Arousal has been linked to presence, or feelings of immersion, supporting the VE's objective. Long paradigms, such as NF in MRI settings, can lead to mental fatigue; therefore, VEs can help overcome such limitations. The rewarding achievements from gaming targets can lead to implicit learning of self-regulation and may broaden the scope of NF applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Halim I. Baqapuri
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical School, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
- Jülich Aachen Research Alliance-Translational Brain Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Linda D. Roes
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical School, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
- Jülich Aachen Research Alliance-Translational Brain Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Mikhail Zvyagintsev
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical School, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
- Jülich Aachen Research Alliance-Translational Brain Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Souad Ramadan
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical School, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
- Jülich Aachen Research Alliance-Translational Brain Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Micha Keller
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical School, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
- Jülich Aachen Research Alliance-Translational Brain Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Erik Roecher
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical School, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
- Jülich Aachen Research Alliance-Translational Brain Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Jana Zweerings
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical School, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
- Jülich Aachen Research Alliance-Translational Brain Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Martin Klasen
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical School, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
- Jülich Aachen Research Alliance-Translational Brain Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Ruben C. Gur
- Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Klaus Mathiak
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical School, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
- Jülich Aachen Research Alliance-Translational Brain Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
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36
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Zhao Z, Yao S, Zweerings J, Zhou X, Zhou F, Kendrick KM, Chen H, Mathiak K, Becker B. Putamen volume predicts real-time fMRI neurofeedback learning success across paradigms and neurofeedback target regions. Hum Brain Mapp 2021; 42:1879-1887. [PMID: 33400306 PMCID: PMC7978128 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.25336] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2020] [Revised: 12/17/2020] [Accepted: 12/22/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Real-time fMRI guided neurofeedback training has gained increasing interest as a noninvasive brain regulation technique with the potential to modulate functional brain alterations in therapeutic contexts. Individual variations in learning success and treatment response have been observed, yet the neural substrates underlying the learning of self-regulation remain unclear. Against this background, we explored potential brain structural predictors for learning success with pooled data from three real-time fMRI data sets. Our analysis revealed that gray matter volume of the right putamen could predict neurofeedback learning success across the three data sets (n = 66 in total). Importantly, the original studies employed different neurofeedback paradigms during which different brain regions were trained pointing to a general association with learning success independent of specific aspects of the experimental design. Given the role of the putamen in associative learning this finding may reflect an important role of instrumental learning processes and brain structural variations in associated brain regions for successful acquisition of fMRI neurofeedback-guided self-regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhiying Zhao
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.,The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, High-Field Magnetic Resonance Brain Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Shuxia Yao
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, High-Field Magnetic Resonance Brain Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Jana Zweerings
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical School, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Xinqi Zhou
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, High-Field Magnetic Resonance Brain Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Feng Zhou
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, High-Field Magnetic Resonance Brain Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Keith M Kendrick
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, High-Field Magnetic Resonance Brain Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Huafu Chen
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, High-Field Magnetic Resonance Brain Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Klaus Mathiak
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical School, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Benjamin Becker
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, High-Field Magnetic Resonance Brain Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
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37
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Tursic A, Eck J, Lührs M, Linden DEJ, Goebel R. A systematic review of fMRI neurofeedback reporting and effects in clinical populations. Neuroimage Clin 2020; 28:102496. [PMID: 33395987 PMCID: PMC7724376 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2020.102496] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2020] [Revised: 10/29/2020] [Accepted: 11/02/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Real-time fMRI-based neurofeedback is a relatively young field with a potential to impact the currently available treatments of various disorders. In order to evaluate the evidence of clinical benefits and investigate how consistently studies report their methods and results, an exhaustive search of fMRI neurofeedback studies in clinical populations was performed. Reporting was evaluated using a limited number of Consensus on the reporting and experimental design of clinical and cognitive-behavioral neurofeedback studies (CRED-NF checklist) items, which was, together with a statistical power and sensitivity calculation, used to also evaluate the existing evidence of the neurofeedback benefits on clinical measures. The 62 found studies investigated regulation abilities and/or clinical benefits in a wide range of disorders, but with small sample sizes and were therefore unable to detect small effects. Most points from the CRED-NF checklist were adequately reported by the majority of the studies, but some improvements are suggested for the reporting of group comparisons and relations between regulation success and clinical benefits. To establish fMRI neurofeedback as a clinical tool, more emphasis should be placed in the future on using larger sample sizes determined through a priori power calculations and standardization of procedures and reporting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anita Tursic
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Oxfordlaan 55, 6229 EV Maastricht, The Netherlands; Brain Innovation B.V, Oxfordlaan 55, 6229 EV Maastricht, The Netherlands.
| | - Judith Eck
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Oxfordlaan 55, 6229 EV Maastricht, The Netherlands; Brain Innovation B.V, Oxfordlaan 55, 6229 EV Maastricht, The Netherlands.
| | - Michael Lührs
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Oxfordlaan 55, 6229 EV Maastricht, The Netherlands; Brain Innovation B.V, Oxfordlaan 55, 6229 EV Maastricht, The Netherlands.
| | - David E J Linden
- School for Mental Health and Neuroscience, Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University, Universiteitssingel 40, 6229 ER Maastricht, The Netherlands.
| | - Rainer Goebel
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Oxfordlaan 55, 6229 EV Maastricht, The Netherlands; Brain Innovation B.V, Oxfordlaan 55, 6229 EV Maastricht, The Netherlands; Department of Neuroimaging and Neuromodeling, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Meibergdreef 47, 1105 BA Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
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38
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Yang C, Chang J, Liang X, Bao X, Wang R. Gray Matter Alterations in Parkinson's Disease With Rapid Eye Movement Sleep Behavior Disorder: A Meta-Analysis of Voxel-Based Morphometry Studies. Front Aging Neurosci 2020; 12:213. [PMID: 32903450 PMCID: PMC7434963 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2020.00213] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2019] [Accepted: 06/17/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Background: Gray matter (GM) alterations in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients with rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (RBD) have been demonstrated in many neuroimaging studies using voxel-based morphometry (VBM). However, the inconsistent findings between studies cannot be applied to clinical practice as a neuroimaging biomarker. We performed a meta-analysis of VBM studies at a whole-brain level to investigate GM differences between PD patients with and without RBD. Methods: A systematic search was conducted in PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science from inception to November 2019 to identify eligible VBM studies. We adopted the latest Seed-based d Mapping with Permutation of Subject Images technique to quantitatively estimate the difference of regional GM volume between PD patients with and without RBD. Results: We included five studies comprising 105 PD patients with RBD and 140 PD patients without RBD. The pooled meta-analysis revealed that PD patients with RBD showed a significant reduction of GM volume in the right superior temporal gyrus (STG) compared with those without RBD. This result was confirmed to be robust by the jackknife sensitivity analysis. Conclusion: Our finding shows significantly and robustly reduced GM volume in the right STG in PD patients with RBD, preliminarily suggesting the association of GM atrophy in this brain region with the occurrence of RBD in PD patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chengxian Yang
- Department of Neurosurgery, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Jianbo Chang
- Department of Neurosurgery, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Xiaohang Liang
- Center for MRI Research, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Xinjie Bao
- Department of Neurosurgery, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Renzhi Wang
- Department of Neurosurgery, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
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39
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Swyer A, Powers AR. Voluntary control of auditory hallucinations: phenomenology to therapeutic implications. NPJ SCHIZOPHRENIA 2020; 6:19. [PMID: 32753641 PMCID: PMC7403299 DOI: 10.1038/s41537-020-0106-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2020] [Accepted: 06/04/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH) have traditionally been thought to be outside the influence of conscious control. However, recent work with voice hearers makes clear that both treatment-seeking and non-treatment-seeking voice hearers may exert varying degrees of control over their voices. Evidence suggests that this ability may be a key factor in determining health status, but little systematic examination of control in AVH has been carried out. This review provides an overview of the research examining control over AVH in both treatment-seeking and non-treatment-seeking populations. We first examine the relationship between control over AVH and health status as well as the psychosocial factors that may influence control and functioning. We then link control to various cognitive constructs that appear to be important for voice hearing. Finally, we reconcile the possibility of control with the field’s current understanding of the proposed cognitive, computational, and neural underpinnings of hallucinations and perception more broadly. Established relationships between control, health status, and functioning suggest that the development of control over AVH could increase functioning and reduce distress. A more detailed understanding of the discrete types of control, their development, and their neural underpinnings is essential for translating this knowledge into new therapeutic approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ariel Swyer
- Department of Behavioral Sciences, York College/CUNY, Jamaica, NY, USA
| | - Albert R Powers
- Department of Psychiatry and the Connecticut Mental Health Center, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
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40
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Humpston C, Garrison J, Orlov N, Aleman A, Jardri R, Fernyhough C, Allen P. Real-Time Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Neurofeedback for the Relief of Distressing Auditory-Verbal Hallucinations: Methodological and Empirical Advances. Schizophr Bull 2020; 46:1409-1417. [PMID: 32740661 PMCID: PMC7707074 DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbaa103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Auditory-verbal hallucinations (AVH) are often associated with high levels of distress and disability in individuals with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders. In around 30% of individuals with distressing AVH and diagnosed with schizophrenia, traditional antipsychotic drugs have little or no effect. Thus, it is important to develop mechanistic models of AVH to inform new treatments. Recently a small number of studies have begun to explore the use of real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging neurofeedback (rtfMRI-NF) for the treatment of AVH in individuals with schizophrenia. rtfMRI-NF protocols have been developed to provide feedback about brain activation in real time to enable participants to progressively achieve voluntary control over their brain activity. We offer a conceptual review of the background and general features of neurofeedback procedures before summarizing and evaluating existing mechanistic models of AVH to identify feasible neural targets for the application of rtfMRI-NF as a potential treatment. We consider methodological issues, including the choice of localizers and practicalities in logistics when setting up neurofeedback procedures in a clinical setting. We discuss clinical considerations relating to the use of rtfMRI-NF for AVH in individuals distressed by their experiences and put forward a number of questions and recommendations about best practice. Lastly, we conclude by offering suggestions for new avenues for neurofeedback methodology and mechanistic targets in relation to the research and treatment of AVH.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clara Humpston
- Institute for Mental Health, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK,Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK,To whom correspondence should be addressed; tel: +44 (0)121 414 2942, fax: +44 (0)121 414 3971, e-mail:
| | - Jane Garrison
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Natasza Orlov
- Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK,Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA,Department of Radiology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China,Precision Brain Imaging Lab, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC
| | - André Aleman
- Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Groningen, AB Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Renaud Jardri
- University of Lille, INSERM, CHU Lille, Lille Neuroscience and Cognition Centre (U-1172), Plasticity and Subjectivity (PSY) Team, CURE Platform, Lille, France
| | | | - Paul Allen
- Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK,Department of Psychology, University of Roehampton, London, UK
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41
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Toh WL, Thomas N, Hollander Y, Rossell SL. On the phenomenology of auditory verbal hallucinations in affective and non-affective psychosis. Psychiatry Res 2020; 290:113147. [PMID: 32569924 DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113147] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2019] [Revised: 03/02/2020] [Accepted: 05/25/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Phenomenological comparisons of auditory verbal hallucinations (AVHs) in affective versus non-affective psychosis have not been adequately documented. The current study aimed to: a) comprehensively describe AVH phenomenology by diagnosis and mood state, b) investigate significant predictors of voice-related distress and functional impairment, and c) conduct qualitative thematic analysis of participants' experiences. Participants were diagnosed with: a) bipolar disorder (n = 31), b) major depressive disorder (n = 34), c) schizophrenia (n = 50), or d) schizoaffective disorder (n = 26). Current voice-hearers were also subdivided into prevailing mood states: a) euthymic (n = 23), b) depressed (n = 51), or c) mania-mixed (n = 12). An in-depth, semi-structured interview was conducted, accompanied by mixed-methods analyses. Of the 34 AVH characteristics, significant group differences across diagnoses were identified only for frequency, number of voices, form of address, perceived location, level of conviction, beliefs regarding origin, and functional interference. Random forests modelling (RFM) showed experienced distress and functional interference were best predicted by discrete AVH variables. Qualitative thematic analysis revealed first-order themes: a) content, b) form, c) function, and d) non-voice. There were more similarities than differences in the phenomenology of AVHs across diagnoses, yet significant predictors of voice-related distress and functional impairment differed across affective and non-affective psychosis. This has important nosological and therapeutic applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Lin Toh
- Centre for Mental Health, Faculty of Health, Arts & Design, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia.
| | - Neil Thomas
- Centre for Mental Health, Faculty of Health, Arts & Design, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Yitzchak Hollander
- Psychiatric Intensive Care Service, Alfred Hospital, Melbourne Australia
| | - Susan Lee Rossell
- Centre for Mental Health, Faculty of Health, Arts & Design, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia; Department of Psychiatry, St Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia
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42
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Farruggia MC, van Kooten MJ, Perszyk EE, Burke MV, Scheinost D, Constable RT, Small DM. Identification of a brain fingerprint for overweight and obesity. Physiol Behav 2020; 222:112940. [PMID: 32417645 PMCID: PMC7321926 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2020.112940] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2019] [Revised: 04/27/2020] [Accepted: 04/28/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
The brain plays a central role in the pathophysiology of overweight and obesity. Connectome-based Predictive Modeling (CPM) is a newly developed, data-driven approach that exploits whole-brain functional connectivity to predict a behavior or trait that varies across individuals. We used CPM to determine whether brain "fingerprints" evoked during milkshake consumption could be isolated for common measures of adiposity in 67 adults with overweight and obesity. We found that CPM captures more variance in waist circumference than either percent body fat or BMI, the most frequently used measures to assess brain correlates of obesity. In a post-hoc analysis, we were also able to derive a largely separable functional connectivity network predicting fasting blood insulin. These findings suggest that, in individuals with overweight and obesity, brain network patterns may be more tightly coupled to waist circumference than BMI or percent body fat and that adiposity and glucose tolerance are associated with distinct maps, pointing to dissociable central pathophysiological phenotypes for obesity and diabetes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael C Farruggia
- Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale University, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT, U.S.; Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, 300 George Street, New Haven, CT 06511, USA.
| | - Maria J van Kooten
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, 300 George Street, New Haven, CT 06511, USA; University of Groningen, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Antonius Deusinglaan 1, 9713 AV Groningen, The Netherlands.
| | - Emily E Perszyk
- Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale University, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT, U.S.; Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, 300 George Street, New Haven, CT 06511, USA.
| | - Mary V Burke
- Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale University, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT, U.S.; Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, 300 George Street, New Haven, CT 06511, USA.
| | - Dustin Scheinost
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States; Department of Statistics and Data Science, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States; Child Study Center, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States.
| | - R Todd Constable
- Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale University, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT, U.S.; Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States; Department of Neurosurgery, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States.
| | - Dana M Small
- Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale University, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT, U.S.; Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, 300 George Street, New Haven, CT 06511, USA; Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States; fMEG Center, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
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43
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Nelson B, Torregrossa L, Thompson A, Sass L, Park S, Hartmann J, McGorry P, Alvarez-Jimenez M. Improving treatments for psychotic disorders: beyond cognitive behaviour therapy for psychosis. PSYCHOSIS 2020; 13:78-84. [PMID: 33889197 PMCID: PMC8057716 DOI: 10.1080/17522439.2020.1742200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2019] [Accepted: 03/10/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
More effective treatments for people with psychotic disorders are urgently required. Here, we make three suggestions for progress: 1. Targeting the disorders' core phenomenological features ('phenomenological phenotype'), 2. Addressing social disconnection, isolation and loneliness, and 3. Leveraging 'hot' cognitions and using symptom capture approaches that combine psychotherapy with advances in technology and neuroscience.
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Affiliation(s)
- B. Nelson
- Orygen, Parkville, Australia
- Centre for Youth Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
| | - L. Torregrossa
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, USA
| | - A. Thompson
- Orygen, Parkville, Australia
- Centre for Youth Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
| | - L.A. Sass
- Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, New Jersey, USA
| | - S. Park
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, USA
| | - J.A. Hartmann
- Orygen, Parkville, Australia
- Centre for Youth Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
| | - P.D. McGorry
- Orygen, Parkville, Australia
- Centre for Youth Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
| | - M. Alvarez-Jimenez
- Orygen, Parkville, Australia
- Centre for Youth Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
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44
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Weiss F, Zamoscik V, Schmidt SN, Halli P, Kirsch P, Gerchen MF. Just a very expensive breathing training? Risk of respiratory artefacts in functional connectivity-based real-time fMRI neurofeedback. Neuroimage 2020; 210:116580. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.116580] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2019] [Revised: 01/15/2020] [Accepted: 01/20/2020] [Indexed: 10/25/2022] Open
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45
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Fede SJ, Dean SF, Manuweera T, Momenan R. A Guide to Literature Informed Decisions in the Design of Real Time fMRI Neurofeedback Studies: A Systematic Review. Front Hum Neurosci 2020; 14:60. [PMID: 32161529 PMCID: PMC7052377 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2020.00060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2019] [Accepted: 02/07/2020] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: Although biofeedback using electrophysiology has been explored extensively, the approach of using neurofeedback corresponding to hemodynamic response is a relatively young field. Real time functional magnetic resonance imaging-based neurofeedback (rt-fMRI-NF) uses sensory feedback to operantly reinforce patterns of neural response. It can be used, for example, to alter visual perception, increase brain connectivity, and reduce depression symptoms. Within recent years, interest in rt-fMRI-NF in both research and clinical contexts has expanded considerably. As such, building a consensus regarding best practices is of great value. Objective: This systematic review is designed to describe and evaluate the variations in methodology used in previous rt-fMRI-NF studies to provide recommendations for rt-fMRI-NF study designs that are mostly likely to elicit reproducible and consistent effects of neurofeedback. Methods: We conducted a database search for fMRI neurofeedback papers published prior to September 26th, 2019. Of 558 studies identified, 146 met criteria for inclusion. The following information was collected from each study: sample size and type, task used, neurofeedback calculation, regulation procedure, feedback, whether feedback was explicitly related to changing brain activity, feedback timing, control group for active neurofeedback, how many runs and sessions of neurofeedback, if a follow-up was conducted, and the results of neurofeedback training. Results: rt-fMRI-NF is typically upregulation practice based on hemodynamic response from a specific region of the brain presented using a continually updating thermometer display. Most rt-fMRI-NF studies are conducted in healthy samples and half evaluate its effect on immediate changes in behavior or affect. The most popular control group method is to provide sham signal from another region; however, many studies do not compare use a comparison group. Conclusions: We make several suggestions for designs of future rt-fMRI-NF studies. Researchers should use feedback calculation methods that consider neural response across regions (i.e., SVM or connectivity), which should be conveyed as intermittent, auditory feedback. Participants should be given explicit instructions and should be assessed on individual differences. Future rt-fMRI-NF studies should use clinical samples; effectiveness of rt-fMRI-NF should be evaluated on clinical/behavioral outcomes at follow-up time points in comparison to both a sham and no feedback control group.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Reza Momenan
- Clinical NeuroImaging Research Core, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States
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46
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Okano K, Bauer CCC, Ghosh SS, Lee YJ, Melero H, de Los Angeles C, Nestor PG, Del Re EC, Northoff G, Whitfield-Gabrieli S, Niznikiewicz MA. Real-time fMRI feedback impacts brain activation, results in auditory hallucinations reduction: Part 1: Superior temporal gyrus -Preliminary evidence. Psychiatry Res 2020; 286:112862. [PMID: 32113035 PMCID: PMC7808413 DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2020.112862] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2019] [Revised: 02/07/2020] [Accepted: 02/08/2020] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Auditory hallucinations (AH) are one of the core symptoms of schizophrenia (SZ) and constitute a significant source of suffering and disability. One third of SZ patients experience pharmacology-resistant AH, so an alternative/complementary treatment strategy is needed to alleviate this debilitating condition. In this study, real-time functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging neurofeedback (rt-fMRI NFB), a non-invasive technique, was used to teach 10 SZ patients with pharmacology-resistant AH to modulate their brain activity in the superior temporal gyrus (STG), a key area in the neurophysiology of AH. A functional task was designed in order to provide patients with a specific strategy to help them modify their brain activity in the desired direction. Specifically, they received neurofeedback from their own STG and were trained to upregulate it while listening to their own voice recording and downregulate it while ignoring a stranger's voice recording. This guided performance neurofeedback training resulted in a) a significant reduction in STG activation while ignoring a stranger's voice, and b) reductions in AH scores after the neurofeedback session. A single, 21-minute session of rt-fMRI NFB was enough to produce these effects, suggesting that this approach may be an efficient and clinically viable alternative for the treatment of pharmacology-resistant AH.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kana Okano
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
| | - Clemens C C Bauer
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Satrajit S Ghosh
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Yoon Ji Lee
- Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02139, USA
| | - Helena Melero
- Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02139, USA; Medical Image Analysis Laboratory (LAIMBIO), Rey Juan Carlos University, Madrid, Spain
| | - Carlo de Los Angeles
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Paul G Nestor
- University of Massachusetts, Boston, Boston MA 02215, USA; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Boston VA Healthcare System, Boston, MA 02130, USA
| | - Elisabetta C Del Re
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Boston VA Healthcare System, Boston, MA 02130, USA; Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Georg Northoff
- Mind, Brain Imaging and Neuroethics Research Unit, The Royal's Institute of Mental Health Research, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Susan Whitfield-Gabrieli
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02139, USA
| | - Margaret A Niznikiewicz
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Boston VA Healthcare System, Boston, MA 02130, USA; Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA 02215, USA
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47
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Bauer CCC, Okano K, Gosh SS, Lee YJ, Melero H, de los Angeles C, Nestor PG, del Re EC, Northoff G, Niznikiewicz MA, Whitfield-Gabrieli S. Real-time fMRI neurofeedback reduces auditory hallucinations and modulates resting state connectivity of involved brain regions: Part 2: Default mode network -preliminary evidence. Psychiatry Res 2020; 284:112770. [PMID: 32004893 PMCID: PMC7046150 DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2020.112770] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2019] [Revised: 01/04/2020] [Accepted: 01/05/2020] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
Auditory hallucinations (AHs) are one of the most distressing symptoms of schizophrenia (SZ) and are often resistant to medication. Imaging studies of individuals with SZ show hyperactivation of the default mode network (DMN) and the superior temporal gyrus (STG). Studies in SZ show DMN hyperconnectivity and reduced anticorrelation between DMN and the central executive network (CEN). DMN hyperconnectivity has been associated with positive symptoms such as AHs while reduced DMN anticorrelations with cognitive impairment. Using real-time fMRI neurofeedback (rt-fMRI-NFB) we trained SZ patients to modulate DMN and CEN networks. Meditation is effective in reducing AHs in SZ and to modulate brain network integration and increase DMN anticorrelations. Consequently, patients were provided with meditation strategies to enhance their abilities to modulate DMN/CEN. Results show a reduction of DMN hyperconnectivity and increase in DMNCEN anticorrelation. Furthermore, the change in individual DMN connectivity significantly correlated with reductions in AHs. This is the first time that meditation enhanced through rt-fMRI-NFB is used to reduce AHs in SZ. Moreover, it provides the first empirical evidence for a direct causal relation between meditation enhanced rt-fMRI-NFB modulation of DMNCEN activity and post-intervention modulation of resting state networks ensuing in reductions in frequency and severity of AHs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clemens C. C. Bauer
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Cambridge, MA 02139, USA,Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02139, USA,Please address correspondence to Clemens Bauer, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and McGovern Institute for Brain Research, 43 Vassar St. 46-4037C Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Cambridge, MA 02139, USA Telephone: +1 (617) 324 5124,
| | - Kana Okano
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Satrajit S. Gosh
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Yoon Ji Lee
- Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02139, USA
| | - Helena Melero
- Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02139, USA,Medical Image Analysis Laboratory (LAIMBIO), Rey Juan Carlos University, Madrid, Spain
| | - Carlo de los Angeles
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Paul G. Nestor
- Harvard Medical School. Boston, MA 02115, USA,Boston VA Healthcare System. Boston, MA 02130, USA,University of Massachusetts, Boston, Boston MA 02215, USA
| | - Elisabetta C. del Re
- Harvard Medical School. Boston, MA 02115, USA,Boston VA Healthcare System. Boston, MA 02130, USA,Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Georg Northoff
- Mind, Brain Imaging and Neuroethics Research Unit, The Royal’s Institute of Mental Health Research, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Margaret A. Niznikiewicz
- Harvard Medical School. Boston, MA 02115, USA,Boston VA Healthcare System. Boston, MA 02130, USA,Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Susan Whitfield-Gabrieli
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Cambridge, MA 02139, USA,Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02139, USA
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48
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Gandara V, Pineda JA, Shu IW, Singh F. A Systematic Review of the Potential Use of Neurofeedback in Patients With Schizophrenia. SCHIZOPHRENIA BULLETIN OPEN 2020; 1:sgaa005. [PMID: 32803157 PMCID: PMC7418870 DOI: 10.1093/schizbullopen/sgaa005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Schizophrenia (SCZ) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by positive symptoms (hallucinations and delusions), negative symptoms (anhedonia, social withdrawal) and marked cognitive deficits (memory, executive function, and attention). Current mainstays of treatment, including medications and psychotherapy, do not adequately address cognitive symptoms, which are essential for everyday functioning. However, recent advances in computational neurobiology have rekindled interest in neurofeedback (NF), a form of self-regulation or neuromodulation, in potentially alleviating cognitive symptoms in patients with SCZ. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review of the literature for NF studies in SCZ to identify lessons learned and to identify steps to move the field forward. Our findings reveal that NF studies to date consist mostly of case studies and small sample, single-group studies. Despite few randomized clinical trials, the results suggest that NF is feasible and that it leads to measurable changes in brain function. These findings indicate early proof-of-concept data that needs to be followed up by larger, randomized clinical trials, testing the efficacy of NF compared to well thought out placebos. We hope that such an undertaking by the field will lead to innovative solutions that address refractory symptoms and improve everyday functioning in patients with SCZ.
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Affiliation(s)
- Veronica Gandara
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California at San Diego (UCSD), La Jolla, CA
| | - Jaime A Pineda
- Department of Cognitive Science, University of California at San Diego (UCSD), La Jolla, CA
| | - I-Wei Shu
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California at San Diego (UCSD), La Jolla, CA
| | - Fiza Singh
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California at San Diego (UCSD), La Jolla, CA
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49
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Gao J, Zhang D, Wang L, Wang W, Fan Y, Tang M, Zhang X, Lei X, Wang Y, Yang J, Zhang X. Altered Effective Connectivity in Schizophrenic Patients With Auditory Verbal Hallucinations: A Resting-State fMRI Study With Granger Causality Analysis. Front Psychiatry 2020; 11:575. [PMID: 32670108 PMCID: PMC7327618 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00575] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2020] [Accepted: 06/05/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE Auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH) are among the most common and prominent symptoms of schizophrenia. Although abnormal functional connectivity associated with AVH has been reported in multiple regions, the changes in information flow remain unclear. In this study, we aimed to elucidate causal influences related to AVH in key regions of auditory, language, and memory networks, by using Granger causality analysis (GCA). PATIENTS AND METHODS Eighteen patients with schizophrenia with AVH and eighteen matched patients without AVH who received resting-state fMRI scans were enrolled in the study. The bilateral superior temporal gyrus (STG), Broca's area, Wernicke's area, putamen, and hippocampus were selected as regions of interest. RESULTS Granger causality (GC) increased from Broca's area to the left STG, and decreased from the right homolog of Wernicke's area to the right homolog of Broca's area, and from the right STG to the right hippocampus in the AVH group compared with the non-AVH group. Correlation analysis showed that the normalized GC ratios from the left STG to Broca's area, from the left STG to the right homolog of Broca's area, and from the right STG to the right homolog of Broca's area were negatively correlated with severity of AVH, and the normalized GC ratios from Broca's area to the left hippocampus and from Broca's area to the right STG were positively correlated with severity of AVH. CONCLUSION Our findings indicate a causal influence of pivotal regions involving the auditory, language, and memory networks in schizophrenia with AVH, which provide a deeper understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying AVH.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jie Gao
- Department of MRI, Shaanxi Provincial People's Hospital, Xi'an, China
| | - Dongsheng Zhang
- Department of MRI, Shaanxi Provincial People's Hospital, Xi'an, China
| | - Lei Wang
- Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
| | - Wei Wang
- Department of Psychiatry, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
| | - Yajuan Fan
- Department of Psychiatry, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
| | - Min Tang
- Department of MRI, Shaanxi Provincial People's Hospital, Xi'an, China
| | - Xin Zhang
- Department of MRI, Shaanxi Provincial People's Hospital, Xi'an, China
| | - Xiaoyan Lei
- Department of MRI, Shaanxi Provincial People's Hospital, Xi'an, China
| | - Yarong Wang
- Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
| | - Jian Yang
- Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
| | - Xiaoling Zhang
- Department of MRI, Shaanxi Provincial People's Hospital, Xi'an, China
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50
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Liu L, Cui LB, Xi YB, Wang XR, Liu YC, Xu ZL, Wang HN, Yin H, Qin W. Association Between Connectivity of Hippocampal Sub-Regions and Auditory Verbal Hallucinations in Schizophrenia. Front Neurosci 2019; 13:424. [PMID: 31130837 PMCID: PMC6509236 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2019.00424] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2018] [Accepted: 04/12/2019] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Background: Hippocampal dysconnectivity has been detected in schizophrenia patients with auditory verbal hallucinations (AVHs). Neuroanatomical evidence has indicated distinct sub-regions in the hippocampus, but which sub-regions within the hippocampus may emerge dysfunction in the brain network, and the relationship between connection strength and the severity of this debilitating disorder have yet to be revealed. Masked independent component analysis (mICA), i.e., ICA restricted to a defined region of interest, can provide insight into observing local functional connectivity in a particular brain region. We aim to map out the sub-regions in the hippocampus with dysconnectivity linked to AVHs in schizophrenia. Methods: In this functional magnetic resonance imaging study of schizophrenia patients with (n = 57) and without (n = 83) AVHs, and 71 healthy controls, we first examined hippocampal connectivity using mICA, and then the correlation between connection metric and clinical severity was generated. Results: As compared with patients without AVHs, mICA showed a group of hyper-connections for the left middle part, as well as another group of hypo-connections for the bilateral antero-lateral and right antero-medial parts in patients with AVHs. Connectivity was linked to the clinical symptoms scores in the sample of patients with AVHs. Conclusion: These findings demonstrate that the left middle part is more densely connected, but the bilateral antero-lateral and right antero-medial parts are more sparsely connected in schizophrenia patients with AVHs. The findings in the present study show proof of precious location in the hippocampus mediating the neural mechanism behind AVHs in schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lin Liu
- School of Life Sciences and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, China
| | - Long-Biao Cui
- Department of Clinical Psychology, School of Medical Psychology, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Yi-Bin Xi
- Department of Radiology, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Xing-Rui Wang
- Department of Radiology, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Yu-Chen Liu
- School of Life Sciences and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, China
| | - Zi-Liang Xu
- School of Life Sciences and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, China
| | - Hua-Ning Wang
- Department of Psychiatry, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Hong Yin
- Department of Radiology, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Wei Qin
- School of Life Sciences and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, China
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