Cardiff University | Prifysgol Caerdydd ORCA
Online Research @ Cardiff 
WelshClear Cookie - decide language by browser settings

Altered amygdala connectivity within the social brain in schizophrenia

Mukherjee, P., Whalley, H. C., McKirdy, J. W., Sprengelmeyer, R., Young, A. W., McIntosh, A. M., Lawrie, S. M. and Hall, Jeremy ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2737-9009 2014. Altered amygdala connectivity within the social brain in schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Bulletin 40 (1) , pp. 152-60. 10.1093/schbul/sbt086

Full text not available from this repository.

Abstract

Background: Impairments in social cognition have been described in schizophrenia and relate to core symptoms of the disorder. Social cognition is subserved by a network of brain regions, many of which have been implicated in schizophrenia. We hypothesized that deficits in connectivity between components of this social brain network may underlie the social cognition impairments seen in the disorder. Methods: We investigated brain activation and connectivity in a group of individuals with schizophrenia making social judgments of approachability from faces (n = 20), compared with a group of matched healthy volunteers (n = 24), using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Effective connectivity from the amygdala was estimated using the psychophysiological interaction approach. Results: While making approachability judgments, healthy participants recruited a network of social brain regions including amygdala, fusiform gyrus, cerebellum, and inferior frontal gyrus bilaterally and left medial prefrontal cortex. During the approachability task, healthy participants showed increased connectivity from the amygdala to the fusiform gyri, cerebellum, and left superior frontal cortex. In comparison to controls, individuals with schizophrenia overactivated the right middle frontal gyrus, superior frontal gyrus, and precuneus and had reduced connectivity between the amygdala and the insula cortex. Discussion: We report increased activation of frontal and medial parietal regions during social judgment in patients with schizophrenia, accompanied by decreased connectivity between the amygdala and insula. We suggest that the increased activation of frontal control systems and association cortex may reflect a compensatory mechanism for impaired connectivity of the amygdala with other parts of the social brain networks in schizophrenia.

Item Type: Article
Date Type: Publication
Status: Published
Schools: MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics (CNGG)
Medicine
Neuroscience and Mental Health Research Institute (NMHRI)
Subjects: R Medicine > R Medicine (General)
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISSN: 0586-7614
Last Modified: 28 Oct 2022 10:06
URI: https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/76731

Citation Data

Cited 44 times in Scopus. View in Scopus. Powered By Scopus® Data

Actions (repository staff only)

Edit Item Edit Item