title: Disruptive changes of cerebellar functional connectivity with the default mode network in schizophrenia.
abstract: The default mode network (DMN) plays an important role in the physiopathology of schizophrenia. Previous studies have suggested that the cerebellum participates in higher-order cognitive networks such as the DMN. However, the specific contribution of the cerebellum to the DMN abnormalities in schizophrenia has yet to be established. In this study, we investigated cerebellar functional connectivity differences between 60 patients with schizophrenia and 60 healthy controls from a public resting-state fMRI database. Seed-based correlation analysis was performed by using seeds from the left Crus I, right Crus I and Lobule IX, which have previously been identified as being involved in the DMN. Our results revealed that, compared with the healthy controls, the patients showed significantly reduced cerebellar functional connectivity with the thalamus and several frontal regions including the middle frontal gyrus, anterior cingulate cortex, and supplementary motor area. Moreover, the positive correlations between the strength of frontocerebellar and thalamocerebellar functional connectivity observed in the healthy subjects were diminished in the patients. Our findings implicate disruptive changes of the fronto-thalamo-cerebellar circuit in schizophrenia, which may provide further evidence for the "cognitive dysmetria" concept of schizophrenia.
authors.affiliation: Beijing Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Beijing, PR China; Cognitive and Mental Health Research Center, Beijing, PR China.
authors.forename: Lubin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Beijing Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Beijing, PR China; Cognitive and Mental Health Research Center, Beijing, PR China.
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zou
authors.affiliation: Beijing Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Beijing, PR China; Cognitive and Mental Health Research Center, Beijing, PR China.
authors.forename: Yongcong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shao
authors.affiliation: Beijing Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Beijing, PR China; Cognitive and Mental Health Research Center, Beijing, PR China.
authors.forename: Enmao
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ye
authors.affiliation: Beijing Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Beijing, PR China; Cognitive and Mental Health Research Center, Beijing, PR China.
authors.forename: Xiao
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.affiliation: Beijing Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Beijing, PR China; Cognitive and Mental Health Research Center, Beijing, PR China.
authors.forename: Shuwen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.affiliation: College of Mechatronics and Automation, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha, Hunan, PR China. Electronic address: dwhu@nudt.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Dewen
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Beijing Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Beijing, PR China; Cognitive and Mental Health Research Center, Beijing, PR China. Electronic address: yangzhengchina@aliyun.com.
authors.forename: Zheng
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000503:physiopathology*; D016208:Databases, Factual; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000503:physiopathology; D012146:Rest; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000503:physiopathology*
keywords: Cerebellum; Default mode network; Functional connectivity; Schizophrenia