Liu-Xian Wang1, Fan Guo2, Yuan-Qiang Zhu2, Hua-Ning Wang3, Wen-Ming Liu3, Chen Li2, Xing-Rui Wang2, Long-Biao Cui2, Yi-Bin Xi4, Hong Yin5. 1. Department of Radiology, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China; Department of Radiology, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China. 2. Department of Radiology, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China. 3. Department of Psychiatry, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China. 4. Department of Radiology, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China. Electronic address: xiyibin@fmmu.edu.cn. 5. Department of Radiology, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China. Electronic address: yinhong@fmmu.edu.cn.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: We aimed to evaluate the functional network properties in first-episode schizophrenia (SZ) patients at baseline and after 4-months treatment with second-generation antipsychotic drugs. METHODS: Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging and graph theory approaches were utilized to evaluate the functional integration and segregation of brain networks in 36 first-episode patients (20 male/16 female) with SZ and 36 age and sex matched healthy controls (20 male/16 female). RESULTS: Compared with healthy controls, SZ at baseline showed lower clustering coefficient (Cp) and local network efficiency (Eloc), and this abnormal pattern was modulated with treatment of antipsychotic drugs at follow-up. Longitudinally, the increase of Cp was associated with the improvement of negative symptom. We found that the strength of functional connectivity between brain regions were significantly increased in three connections after treatment, mainly involving the frontal, parietal and occipital lobes. CONCLUSION: The current study suggested that antipsychotic drugs could modulate the faulty local clustering of the functional connectome in SZ. Furthermore, Cp, the parameter that reflects local clustering of topological organization, demonstrated the potential to be a connectome-based biomarker of treatment response to second-generation antipsychotics in patients with SZ.
OBJECTIVE: We aimed to evaluate the functional network properties in first-episode schizophrenia (SZ) patients at baseline and after 4-months treatment with second-generation antipsychotic drugs. METHODS: Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging and graph theory approaches were utilized to evaluate the functional integration and segregation of brain networks in 36 first-episode patients (20 male/16 female) with SZ and 36 age and sex matched healthy controls (20 male/16 female). RESULTS: Compared with healthy controls, SZ at baseline showed lower clustering coefficient (Cp) and local network efficiency (Eloc), and this abnormal pattern was modulated with treatment of antipsychotic drugs at follow-up. Longitudinally, the increase of Cp was associated with the improvement of negative symptom. We found that the strength of functional connectivity between brain regions were significantly increased in three connections after treatment, mainly involving the frontal, parietal and occipital lobes. CONCLUSION: The current study suggested that antipsychotic drugs could modulate the faulty local clustering of the functional connectome in SZ. Furthermore, Cp, the parameter that reflects local clustering of topological organization, demonstrated the potential to be a connectome-based biomarker of treatment response to second-generation antipsychotics in patients with SZ.
Authors: Nina V Kraguljac; William M McDonald; Alik S Widge; Carolyn I Rodriguez; Mauricio Tohen; Charles B Nemeroff Journal: Am J Psychiatry Date: 2021-01-05 Impact factor: 19.242