Conflict-related anterior cingulate functional connectivity is associated with past suicidal ideation and behavior in recent-onset schizophrenia.
Suicide is highly prevalent in schizophrenia (SZ), yet it remains unclear how suicide risk factors such as past suicidal ideation or behavior relate to brain function. Circuits modulated by the prefrontal cortex (PFC) are altered in SZ, including in dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) during conflict-monitoring (an important component of cognitive control), and dACC changes are observed in post-mortem studies of heterogeneous suicide victims. We tested whether conflict-related dACC functional connectivity is associated with past suicidal ideation and behavior in SZ. 32 patients with recent-onset of DSM-IV-TR-defined SZ were evaluated with the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale and functional MRI during cognitive control (AX-CPT) task performance. Group-level regression models relating past history of suicidal ideation or behavior to dACC-seeded functional connectivity during conflict-monitoring controlled for severity of depression, psychosis and impulsivity. Past suicidal ideation was associated with relatively higher functional connectivity of the dACC with the precuneus during conflict-monitoring. Intensity of worst-point past suicidal ideation was associated with relatively higher dACC functional connectivity in medial parietal lobe and striato-thalamic nuclei. In contrast, among those with past suicidal ideation (n = 17), past suicidal behavior was associated with lower conflict-related dACC connectivity with multiple lateral and medial PFC regions, parietal and temporal cortical regions. This study provides unique evidence that recent-onset schizophrenia patients with past suicidal ideation or behavior show altered dACC-based circuit function during conflict-monitoring. Suicidal ideation and suicidal behavior have divergent patterns of associated dACC functional connectivity, suggesting a differing pattern of conflict-related brain dysfunction with these two distinct features of suicide phenomenology.
['Minzenberg|Michael J|MJ|', 'Lesh|Tyler|T|', 'Niendam|Tara|T|', 'Yoon|Jong H|JH|', 'Cheng|Yaoan|Y|', 'Rhoades|Remy|R|', 'Carter|Cameron S|CS|']
D000293:Adolescent D000328:Adult D003220:Conflict, Psychological D005260:Female D006179:Gyrus Cinguli D006801:Humans D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging D008297:Male D008875:Middle Aged D009434:Neural Pathways D009483:Neuropsychological Tests D010100:Oxygen D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales D012559:Schizophrenia D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology D013405:Suicide D055815:Young Adult
Anterior cingulate Functional connectivity Suicidal ideation Schizophrenia Conflict-monitoring Suicidal behavior