title: Association of familial risk for schizophrenia with thalamic and medial prefrontal functional connectivity during attentional control.
abstract: Anomalies in behavioral correlates of attentional processing and related brain activity are crucial correlates of schizophrenia and associated with familial risk for this brain disorder. However, it is not clear how brain functional connectivity during attentional processes is key for schizophrenia and linked with trait vs. state related variables. To address this issue, we investigated patterns of functional connections during attentional control in healthy siblings of patients with schizophrenia, who share with probands genetic features but not variables related to the state of the disorder. 356 controls, 55 patients with schizophrenia on stable treatment with antipsychotics and 40 healthy siblings of patients with this brain disorder underwent the Variable Attentional Control (VAC) task during fMRI. Independent Component Analysis (ICA) is allowed to identify independent components (IC) of BOLD signal recorded during task performance. Results indicated reduced connectivity strength in patients with schizophrenia as well as in their healthy siblings in left thalamus within an attentional control component and greater connectivity in right medial prefrontal cortex (PFC) within the so-called Default Mode Network (DMN) compared to healthy individuals. These results suggest a relationship between familial risk for schizophrenia and brain functional networks during attentional control, such that this biological phenotype may be considered a useful intermediate phenotype in order to link genes effects to aspects of the pathophysiology of this brain disorder.
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neuroscience and Sense Organs, Università degli Studi di Bari "Aldo Moro", 70124 Bari, Italy; Department of Educational Science, Psychology and Communication Science, Università degli Studi di Bari "Aldo Moro", 70124 Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Linda A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Antonucci
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neuroscience and Sense Organs, Università degli Studi di Bari "Aldo Moro", 70124 Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Taurisano
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neuroscience and Sense Organs, Università degli Studi di Bari "Aldo Moro", 70124 Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Leonardo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fazio
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neuroscience and Sense Organs, Università degli Studi di Bari "Aldo Moro", 70124 Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Gelao
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neuroscience and Sense Organs, Università degli Studi di Bari "Aldo Moro", 70124 Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Raffaella
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Romano
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neuroscience and Sense Organs, Università degli Studi di Bari "Aldo Moro", 70124 Bari, Italy; Cognitive Brain Research Unit, Institute of Behavioural Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Tiziana
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Quarto
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neuroscience and Sense Organs, Università degli Studi di Bari "Aldo Moro", 70124 Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Annamaria
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Porcelli
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neuroscience and Sense Organs, Università degli Studi di Bari "Aldo Moro", 70124 Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Marina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mancini
authors.affiliation: IRCCS "Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza", 71013 S. Giovanni Rotondo (FG), Italy.
authors.forename: Annabella
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Di Giorgio
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neuroscience and Sense Organs, Università degli Studi di Bari "Aldo Moro", 70124 Bari, Italy; Psychiatry Unit, Bari University Hospital, 70124 Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Grazia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Caforio
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neuroscience and Sense Organs, Università degli Studi di Bari "Aldo Moro", 70124 Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Giulio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pergola
authors.affiliation: IRCCS "Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza", 71013 S. Giovanni Rotondo (FG), Italy.
authors.forename: Teresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Popolizio
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neuroscience and Sense Organs, Università degli Studi di Bari "Aldo Moro", 70124 Bari, Italy; Psychiatry Unit, Bari University Hospital, 70124 Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bertolino
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neuroscience and Sense Organs, Università degli Studi di Bari "Aldo Moro", 70124 Bari, Italy; Psychiatry Unit, Bari University Hospital, 70124 Bari, Italy. Electronic address: blasi.seppe@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Blasi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D005192:Family Health; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008959:Models, Neurological; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013788:Thalamus / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D010100:Oxygen
keywords: Attentional control; Default mode network; Independent component analysis; Schizophrenia; Thalamus; fMRI