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Improvement in prefrontal thalamic connectivity during the early course of the illness in recent-onset psychosis: a 12-month longitudinal follow-up resting-state fMRI study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 December 2020

Daniel Bergé Open the ORCID record for Daniel Bergé [Opens in a new window] ,
Tyler A. Lesh ,
Jason Smucny  and
Cameron S. Carter
Daniel Bergé*
Affiliation:
Neuroimaging Group, Neuroscience Department, IMIM (Hospital del Mar Research Institute), Barcelona, Spain Autonomous University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain CIBERSAM, Madrid, Spain
Tyler A. Lesh
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California (UCDAVIS), Davis, CA, USA
Jason Smucny
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California (UCDAVIS), Davis, CA, USA
Cameron S. Carter
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California (UCDAVIS), Davis, CA, USA
*
Author for correspondence: Daniel Bergé, E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Background

Previous research in resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) has shown a mixed pattern of disrupted thalamocortical connectivity in psychosis. The clinical meaning of these findings and their stability over time remains unclear. We aimed to study thalamocortical connectivity longitudinally over a 1-year period in participants with recent-onset psychosis.

Methods

To this purpose, 129 individuals with recent-onset psychosis and 87 controls were clinically evaluated and scanned using rs-fMRI. Among them, 43 patients and 40 controls were re-scanned and re-evaluated 12 months later. Functional connectivity between the thalamus and the rest of the brain was calculated using a seed to voxel approach, and then compared between groups and correlated with clinical features cross-sectionally and longitudinally.

Results

At baseline, participants with recent-onset psychosis showed increased connectivity (compared to controls) between the thalamus and somatosensory and temporal regions (k = 653, T = 5.712), as well as decreased connectivity between the thalamus and left cerebellum and right prefrontal cortex (PFC; k = 201, T = −4.700). Longitudinal analyses revealed increased connectivity over time in recent-onset psychosis (relative to controls) in the right middle frontal gyrus.

Conclusions

Our results support the concept of abnormal thalamic connectivity as a core feature in psychosis. In agreement with a non-degenerative model of illness in which functional changes occur early in development and do not deteriorate over time, no evidence of progressive deterioration of connectivity during early psychosis was observed. Indeed, regionally increased connectivity between thalamus and PFC was observed.

Keywords

schizophreniafirst-episode psychosisfMRIresting state
Type
Original Article
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 52 , Issue 13 , October 2022 , pp. 2713 - 2721
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

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