title: Evidence of a dissociation pattern in default mode subnetwork functional connectivity in schizophrenia.
abstract: The default mode network (DMN) is suggested to play a pivotal role in schizophrenia; however, the dissociation pattern of functional connectivity of DMN subsystems remains uncharacterized in this disease. In this study, resting-state fMRI data were acquired from 55 schizophrenic patients and 53 matched healthy controls. DMN connectivity was estimated from time courses of independent components. The lateral DMN exhibited decreased connectivity with the unimodal sensorimotor cortex but increased connectivity with the heteromodal association areas in schizophrenics. The increased connectivity between the lateral DMN and right control network was significantly correlated with negative and anergia factor scores in the schizophrenic patients. The anterior and posterior DMNs exhibited increased and decreased connectivity with the right control and lateral visual networks, respectively, in schizophrenics. The altered DMN connectivity may underlie the hallucinations, delusions, thought disturbances, and negative symptoms involved in schizophrenia. Furthermore, DMN connectivity patterns could be used to differentiate patients from controls with 76.9% accuracy. These findings may shed new light on the distinct role of DMN subsystems in schizophrenia, thereby furthering our understanding of the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. Elucidating key disease-related DMN subsystems is critical for identifying treatment targets and aiding in the clinical diagnosis and development of treatment strategies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Xijing Hospital of the Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an Shaanxi 710032, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Huaning
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: College of Mechatronics and Automation, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha, Hunan 410073, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Ling-Li
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Xijing Hospital of the Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an Shaanxi 710032, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yunchun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Xijing Hospital of the Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an Shaanxi 710032, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Xijing Hospital of the Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an Shaanxi 710032, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Qingrong
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.affiliation: College of Mechatronics and Automation, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha, Hunan 410073, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Dewen
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D063132:Connectome / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D055815:Young Adult