title: Altered amygdala connectivity within the social brain in schizophrenia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Impairments in social cognition have been described in schizophrenia and relate to core symptoms of the disorder. Social cognition is subserved by a network of brain regions, many of which have been implicated in schizophrenia. We hypothesized that deficits in connectivity between components of this social brain network may underlie the social cognition impairments seen in the disorder.
  
  
  METHODS
  We investigated brain activation and connectivity in a group of individuals with schizophrenia making social judgments of approachability from faces (n = 20), compared with a group of matched healthy volunteers (n = 24), using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Effective connectivity from the amygdala was estimated using the psychophysiological interaction approach.
  
  
  RESULTS
  While making approachability judgments, healthy participants recruited a network of social brain regions including amygdala, fusiform gyrus, cerebellum, and inferior frontal gyrus bilaterally and left medial prefrontal cortex. During the approachability task, healthy participants showed increased connectivity from the amygdala to the fusiform gyri, cerebellum, and left superior frontal cortex. In comparison to controls, individuals with schizophrenia overactivated the right middle frontal gyrus, superior frontal gyrus, and precuneus and had reduced connectivity between the amygdala and the insula cortex.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We report increased activation of frontal and medial parietal regions during social judgment in patients with schizophrenia, accompanied by decreased connectivity between the amygdala and insula. We suggest that the increased activation of frontal control systems and association cortex may reflect a compensatory mechanism for impaired connectivity of the amygdala with other parts of the social brain networks in schizophrenia.
authors.affiliation: *To whom correspondence should be addressed; Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-2500, US; tel: 773-916-7662, fax: 631-632-7876, e-mail: prerona.mukherjee@stonybrook.edu.
authors.forename: Prerona
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mukherjee
authors.forename: Heather C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Whalley
authors.forename: James W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: McKirdy
authors.forename: Reiner
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sprengelmeyer
authors.forename: Andrew W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Young
authors.forename: Andrew M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: McIntosh
authors.forename: Stephen M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Lawrie
authors.forename: Jeremy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hall
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000679:Amygdala / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology; D063132:Connectome / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012938:Social Perception
keywords: approachability; fMRI; neural; psychophysiological interaction; psychosis; social cognition