title: Abnormally increased and incoherent resting-state activity is shared between patients with schizophrenia and their unaffected siblings.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Several resting-state neuroimaging studies in schizophrenia indicate an excessive brain activity while others report an incoherent brain activity at rest. No direct evidence for the simultaneous presence of both excessive and incoherent brain activity has been established to date. Moreover, it is unclear whether unaffected siblings of schizophrenia patients who share half of the affected patient's genotype also exhibit the excessive and incoherent brain activity that may render them vulnerable to the development of schizophrenia.
  
  
  METHODS
  27 pairs of schizophrenia patients and their unaffected siblings, as well as 27 healthy controls, were scanned using gradient-echo echo-planar imaging at rest. By using amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) and regional homogeneity (Reho), we investigated the intensity and synchronization of local spontaneous neuronal activity in three groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We observed that increased amplitude and reduced synchronization (coherence) of spontaneous neuronal activity were shared by patients and their unaffected siblings. The key brain regions with this abnormal neural pattern in both patients and siblings included the middle temporal, orbito-frontal, inferior occipital and fronto-insular gyrus.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This abnormal neural pattern of excessive and incoherent neuronal activity shared by schizophrenia patients and their healthy siblings may improve our understanding of neuropathology and genetic predisposition in schizophrenia.
authors.affiliation: Mental Health Institute, Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, People's Republic of China; The China National Clinical Research Center for Mental Health Disorders, National Technology Institute of Psychiatry, Key Laboratory of Psychiatry and Mental Health of Hunan Province, 139 Middle Renmin Road, Changsha, Hunan 410011, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Chang
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Mental Health Institute, Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, People's Republic of China; State Key Laboratory of Medical Genetics, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, People's Republic of China; The China National Clinical Research Center for Mental Health Disorders, National Technology Institute of Psychiatry, Key Laboratory of Psychiatry and Mental Health of Hunan Province, 139 Middle Renmin Road, Changsha, Hunan 410011, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Zhimin
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Xue
authors.affiliation: Departments of Psychiatry, Neuroscience and Medical Biophysics, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Lena
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Palaniyappan
authors.affiliation: Mental Health Institute, Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, People's Republic of China; The China National Clinical Research Center for Mental Health Disorders, National Technology Institute of Psychiatry, Key Laboratory of Psychiatry and Mental Health of Hunan Province, 139 Middle Renmin Road, Changsha, Hunan 410011, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Mental Health Center, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Haihong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Mental Health Institute, Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, People's Republic of China; The China National Clinical Research Center for Mental Health Disorders, National Technology Institute of Psychiatry, Key Laboratory of Psychiatry and Mental Health of Hunan Province, 139 Middle Renmin Road, Changsha, Hunan 410011, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Chang
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Qi
authors.affiliation: Mental Health Institute, Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, People's Republic of China; The China National Clinical Research Center for Mental Health Disorders, National Technology Institute of Psychiatry, Key Laboratory of Psychiatry and Mental Health of Hunan Province, 139 Middle Renmin Road, Changsha, Hunan 410011, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Guowei
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Mental Health Institute, Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, People's Republic of China; College of Health Sciences, University of Dodoma, P.O. Box 395, Dodoma, Tanzania.
authors.forename: Tumbwene E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Mwansisya
authors.affiliation: Mental Health Institute, Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, People's Republic of China; The China National Clinical Research Center for Mental Health Disorders, National Technology Institute of Psychiatry, Key Laboratory of Psychiatry and Mental Health of Hunan Province, 139 Middle Renmin Road, Changsha, Hunan 410011, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Haojuan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tao
authors.affiliation: Mental Health Institute, Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, People's Republic of China; The China National Clinical Research Center for Mental Health Disorders, National Technology Institute of Psychiatry, Key Laboratory of Psychiatry and Mental Health of Hunan Province, 139 Middle Renmin Road, Changsha, Hunan 410011, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xudong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Mental Health Institute, Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, People's Republic of China; The China National Clinical Research Center for Mental Health Disorders, National Technology Institute of Psychiatry, Key Laboratory of Psychiatry and Mental Health of Hunan Province, 139 Middle Renmin Road, Changsha, Hunan 410011, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xiaojun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Mental Health Institute, Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, People's Republic of China; State Key Laboratory of Medical Genetics, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, People's Republic of China; The China National Clinical Research Center for Mental Health Disorders, National Technology Institute of Psychiatry, Key Laboratory of Psychiatry and Mental Health of Hunan Province, 139 Middle Renmin Road, Changsha, Hunan 410011, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Zhening
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Medical Psychological Institute, Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, People's Republic of China; The China National Clinical Research Center for Mental Health Disorders, National Technology Institute of Psychiatry, Key Laboratory of Psychiatry and Mental Health of Hunan Province, 139 Middle Renmin Road, Changsha, Hunan 410011, People's Republic of China. Electronic address: pulv1128@126.com.
authors.forename: Weidan
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Pu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D017352:Echo-Planar Imaging; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008297:Male; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012146:Rest; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000235:genetics*; D035781:Siblings; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Neuronal activity; Neuronal synchronization; Resting-state; Schizophrenia; Unaffected sibling