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


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


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


CONCLUSIONS
Abnormalities in the dMPFC DN subsystem in patients with a FEP suggest that FC patterns are altered even in the early stages of psychosis.
Servei de Psiquiatria Institut d'Investigació en Biomedicina de Sant Pau (IIB-Sant Pau) Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental-CIBERSAM, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain. aalonsos@santpau.cat
Anna
A
Alonso-Solís
Iluminada
I
Corripio
Pilar
P
de Castro-Manglano
Santiago
S
Duran-Sindreu
Manuel
M
Garcia-Garcia
Erika
E
Proal
Fidel
F
Nuñez-Marín
Cesar
C
Soutullo
Enric
E
Alvarez
Beatriz
B
Gómez-Ansón
Clare
C
Kelly
F Xavier
FX
Castellanos
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000098:blood supply / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000098:blood supply / Q000503:physiopathology*; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D012146:Rest / Q000502:physiology*; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D055815:Young Adult
D010100:Oxygen