Reduced functional connectivity between bilateral precuneus and contralateral parahippocampus in schizotypal personality disorder.
Schizotypal personality disorder (SPD) is linked to schizophrenia in terms of shared genetics, biological markers and phenomenological characteristics. In the current study, we aimed to determine whether the previously reported altered functional connectivity (FC) with precuneus in patients with schizophrenia could be extended to individuals with SPD.



Twenty subjects with SPD and 19 healthy controls were recruited from 4461 freshmen at a university in Shanghai and received a resting-state scan of MRI. All participants were evaluated by the Chinese version of Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ) and the Chinese version of Symptom Checklist (SCL-90). The imaging data were analysed using the seed-based functional connectivity method.



Compared with the controls, SPD subjects exhibited reduced FC between bilateral precuneus and contralateral parahippocampus. In SPD group, SPQ total score was negatively correlated with FC between right precuneus and left parahippocampus (r = -0.603, p = 0.006); there was a negative trend between SPQ subscale score of suspiciousness and FC between left precuneus and right parahippocampus (r = -0.553, p = 0.014); and a positive trend was found between SPQ subscale score of odd or eccentric behaviour and FC between left precuneus and right superior temporal gyrus (r = 0.543, p = 0.016). As for the SCL-90 score, a similar negative trend was found between SCL-90 subscale score of suspiciousness and FC between right precuneus and left parahippocampus (r = -0.535, p = 0.018) in SPD group.



Our findings suggest that the decreased functional connectivity between precuneus and contralateral parahippocampus might play a key role in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia spectrum disorder.
Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, South Wan Ping Road 600, Shanghai, 200030, People's Republic of China.|Klinik und Poliklinik für Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie, Klinikum rechts der Isar, TU München, Munich, Germany.
Yikang
Y
Zhu
Department of Medical Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Mental Health, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
Yunxiang
Y
Tang
Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, South Wan Ping Road 600, Shanghai, 200030, People's Republic of China.
Tianhong
T
Zhang
Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, South Wan Ping Road 600, Shanghai, 200030, People's Republic of China.
Hui
H
Li
Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, South Wan Ping Road 600, Shanghai, 200030, People's Republic of China.
Yingying
Y
Tang
Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, South Wan Ping Road 600, Shanghai, 200030, People's Republic of China.|Bio-X Institutes, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders, Ministry of Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
Chunbo
C
Li
Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 06516, USA.
Xingguang
X
Luo
Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, South Wan Ping Road 600, Shanghai, 200030, People's Republic of China. hyg_512@126.com.
Yongguang
Y
He
Department of Psychiatry, Shanghai Tongji Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, 389 Xin Cun Road, Shanghai, 200065, People's Republic of China. luzheng@tongji.edu.cn.
Zheng
Z
Lu
Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, South Wan Ping Road 600, Shanghai, 200030, People's Republic of China.|Bio-X Institutes, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders, Ministry of Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
Jijun
J
Wang
D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D059906:Neuroimaging; D020534:Parahippocampal Gyrus / Q000503:physiopathology*; D010296:Parietal Lobe / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012569:Schizotypal Personality Disorder / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000503:physiopathology*
Functional connectivity; Parahippocampus; Precuneus; Resting state; Schizotypal personality disorder