Individual Variation in Functional Brain Network Topography is Linked to Schizophrenia Symptomatology.
Resting-state fMRI (rsfMRI) demonstrates that the brain is organized into distributed networks. Numerous studies have examined links between psychiatric symptomatology and network functional connectivity. Traditional rsfMRI analyses assume that the spatial organization of networks is invariant between individuals. This dogma has recently been overturned by the demonstration that networks show significant variation between individuals. We tested the hypothesis that previously observed relationships between schizophrenia-negative symptom severity and network connectivity are actually due to individual differences in network spatial organization. Forty-four participants diagnosed with schizophrenia underwent rsfMRI scans and clinical assessments. A multivariate pattern analysis determined how whole-brain functional connectivity correlates with negative symptom severity at the individual voxel level. Brain connectivity to a region of the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex correlates with negative symptom severity. This finding results from individual differences in the topographic distribution of 2 networks: the default mode network (DMN) and the task-positive network (TPN). Both networks demonstrate strong (r = ~0.49) and significant (P < .001) relationships between topography and symptom severity. For individuals with low symptom severity, this critical region is part of the DMN. In highly symptomatic individuals, this region is part of the TPN. Previously overlooked individual variation in brain organization is tightly linked to differences in schizophrenia symptom severity. Recognizing critical links between network topography and pathological symptomology may identify key circuits that underlie cognitive and behavioral phenotypes. Individual variation in network topography likely guides different responses to clinical interventions that rely on anatomical targeting (eg, transcranial magnetic stimulation [TMS]).
['Nawaz|Uzma|U|', 'Lee|Ivy|I|', 'Beermann|Adam|A|', 'Eack|Shaun|S|', 'Keshavan|Matcheri|M|', 'Brady|Roscoe|R|']
D000328:Adult D063132:Connectome D000082702:Default Mode Network D005260:Female D006801:Humans D007206:Individuality D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging D008297:Male D009415:Nerve Net D017397:Prefrontal Cortex D011618:Psychotic Disorders D012559:Schizophrenia D012720:Severity of Illness Index D055815:Young Adult
schizophrenia psychosis psychosocial treatments