Decreased regional activity of default-mode network in unaffected siblings of schizophrenia patients at rest.
Dysconnectivity hypothesis posits that abnormal resting-state connectivity within the default-mode network (DMN) acts as a key role in schizophrenia. However, little is known about the regional alterations of the DMN in unaffected siblings of schizophrenia patients. Unaffected siblings have a unique advantage in neuroimaging studies independent of clinical and treatment issues that complicate studies on patients themselves. In the present study, we used fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (fALFF) to investigate regional alterations of the DMN in unaffected siblings of schizophrenia patients at rest. Forty-six unaffected siblings of schizophrenia patients and 50 age-, sex-, and education-matched healthy controls underwent a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The fALFF and independent component analysis (ICA) approaches were used to analyze the data. The unaffected siblings of schizophrenia patients had lower fALFF than the controls in the left inferior temporal gyrus (ITG). No significantly increased fALFF was found in any brain regions in the siblings compared to that in the controls. Further receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and support vector machine (SVM) analyses showed that the fALFF values of the left ITG could be utilized to separate the siblings from the controls. Our results first suggest that there is decreased regional activity of the DMN in unaffected siblings of schizophrenia patients, and provide a clue that decreased regional activity of the left ITG could be applied as a candidate biomarker to identify the siblings from the controls.
Mental Health Center, the First Affiliated Hospital, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi 530021, China. Electronic address: guowenbin76@163.com.
Wenbin
W
Guo
Mental Health Center, the First Affiliated Hospital, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi 530021, China.
Qinji
Q
Su
Mental Health Center, the First Affiliated Hospital, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi 530021, China.
Dapeng
D
Yao
Mental Health Center, the First Affiliated Hospital, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi 530021, China.
Jiajing
J
Jiang
Mental Health Center, the First Affiliated Hospital, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi 530021, China.
Jian
J
Zhang
Mental Health Center, the First Affiliated Hospital, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi 530021, China.
Zhikun
Z
Zhang
Mental Health Center, the First Affiliated Hospital, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi 530021, China.
Liuyu
L
Yu
School of Mental Health, Jining Medical University, Jining, Shandong 272067, China.
Jinguo
J
Zhai
Mental Health Center, the First Affiliated Hospital, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi 530021, China.
Changqing
C
Xiao
D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D016002:Discriminant Analysis; D015536:Down-Regulation; D005260:Female; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000378:metabolism*; D012372:ROC Curve; D012146:Rest; D012306:Risk; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000378:metabolism*; D035781:Siblings; D060388:Support Vector Machine; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000378:metabolism*; D055815:Young Adult
D015415:Biomarkers
Default mode network; Fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation; Independent component analysis; Schizophrenia; Siblings