Functional neurodevelopment of working memory in early-onset schizophrenia: A longitudinal FMRI study

Vasileios Ioakeimidis; Corinna Haenschel; Anne Kathrin Fett; Marinos Kyriakopoulos; Danai Dima

doi:10.1016/j.scog.2022.100268

Functional neurodevelopment of working memory in early-onset schizophrenia: A longitudinal FMRI study

Vasileios Ioakeimidis, Corinna Haenschel, Anne Kathrin Fett, Marinos Kyriakopoulos, Danai Dima^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Schizophrenia, a debilitating disorder with typical manifestation of clinical symptoms in early adulthood, is characterized by cognitive impairments in executive processes such as in working memory (WM). However, there is a rare case of individuals with early-onset schizophrenia (EOS) starting before their 18th birthday, while WM and its neural substrates are still undergoing maturation. Using the WM n-back task with functional magnetic resonance imaging, we assessed the functional neurodevelopment of WM in adolescents with EOS and age- and gender-matched typically developing controls. Participants underwent neuroimaging in the same scanner twice, once at age 17 and at 21 (mean interscan interval = 4.3 years). General linear model analysis was performed to explore WM neurodevelopmental changes within and between groups. Psychopathological scores were entered in multiple regressions to detect brain regions whose longitudinal functional change was predicted by baseline symptoms in EOS. WM neurodevelopment was characterized by widespread functional reductions in frontotemporal and cingulate brain areas in patients and controls. No between-group differences were found in the trajectory of WM change. Baseline symptom scores predicted functional neurodevelopmental changes in frontal, cingulate, parietal, occipital, and cerebellar areas. The adolescent brain undergoes developmental processes such as synaptic pruning, which may underlie the refinement WM of network. Prefrontal and parietooccipital activity reduction is affected by clinical presentation of symptoms. Using longitudinal neuroimaging methods in a rare diagnostic sample of patients with EOS may help the advancement of neurodevelopmental biomarkers intended as pharmacological targets to tackle WM impairment.

Original language	English
Article number	100268
Journal	Schizophrenia Research: Cognition
Volume	30
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scog.2022.100268
Publication status	Published - Dec 2022

Keywords

Early-onset schizophrenia
fMRI
Longitudinal
Maturation
Working memory

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1016/j.scog.2022.100268

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title = "Functional neurodevelopment of working memory in early-onset schizophrenia: A longitudinal FMRI study",

abstract = "Schizophrenia, a debilitating disorder with typical manifestation of clinical symptoms in early adulthood, is characterized by cognitive impairments in executive processes such as in working memory (WM). However, there is a rare case of individuals with early-onset schizophrenia (EOS) starting before their 18th birthday, while WM and its neural substrates are still undergoing maturation. Using the WM n-back task with functional magnetic resonance imaging, we assessed the functional neurodevelopment of WM in adolescents with EOS and age- and gender-matched typically developing controls. Participants underwent neuroimaging in the same scanner twice, once at age 17 and at 21 (mean interscan interval = 4.3 years). General linear model analysis was performed to explore WM neurodevelopmental changes within and between groups. Psychopathological scores were entered in multiple regressions to detect brain regions whose longitudinal functional change was predicted by baseline symptoms in EOS. WM neurodevelopment was characterized by widespread functional reductions in frontotemporal and cingulate brain areas in patients and controls. No between-group differences were found in the trajectory of WM change. Baseline symptom scores predicted functional neurodevelopmental changes in frontal, cingulate, parietal, occipital, and cerebellar areas. The adolescent brain undergoes developmental processes such as synaptic pruning, which may underlie the refinement WM of network. Prefrontal and parietooccipital activity reduction is affected by clinical presentation of symptoms. Using longitudinal neuroimaging methods in a rare diagnostic sample of patients with EOS may help the advancement of neurodevelopmental biomarkers intended as pharmacological targets to tackle WM impairment.",

keywords = "Early-onset schizophrenia, fMRI, Longitudinal, Maturation, Working memory",

author = "Vasileios Ioakeimidis and Corinna Haenschel and Fett, {Anne Kathrin} and Marinos Kyriakopoulos and Danai Dima",

note = "Funding Information: This work was supported by a Pump Priming Grant awarded to Danai Dima by City, University of London . Vasileios Ioakeimidis is funded by a City, University of London , PhD studentship. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2022 The Authors",

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AU - Ioakeimidis, Vasileios

AU - Haenschel, Corinna

AU - Fett, Anne Kathrin

AU - Kyriakopoulos, Marinos

AU - Dima, Danai

N1 - Funding Information: This work was supported by a Pump Priming Grant awarded to Danai Dima by City, University of London . Vasileios Ioakeimidis is funded by a City, University of London , PhD studentship. Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The Authors

PY - 2022/12

Y1 - 2022/12

N2 - Schizophrenia, a debilitating disorder with typical manifestation of clinical symptoms in early adulthood, is characterized by cognitive impairments in executive processes such as in working memory (WM). However, there is a rare case of individuals with early-onset schizophrenia (EOS) starting before their 18th birthday, while WM and its neural substrates are still undergoing maturation. Using the WM n-back task with functional magnetic resonance imaging, we assessed the functional neurodevelopment of WM in adolescents with EOS and age- and gender-matched typically developing controls. Participants underwent neuroimaging in the same scanner twice, once at age 17 and at 21 (mean interscan interval = 4.3 years). General linear model analysis was performed to explore WM neurodevelopmental changes within and between groups. Psychopathological scores were entered in multiple regressions to detect brain regions whose longitudinal functional change was predicted by baseline symptoms in EOS. WM neurodevelopment was characterized by widespread functional reductions in frontotemporal and cingulate brain areas in patients and controls. No between-group differences were found in the trajectory of WM change. Baseline symptom scores predicted functional neurodevelopmental changes in frontal, cingulate, parietal, occipital, and cerebellar areas. The adolescent brain undergoes developmental processes such as synaptic pruning, which may underlie the refinement WM of network. Prefrontal and parietooccipital activity reduction is affected by clinical presentation of symptoms. Using longitudinal neuroimaging methods in a rare diagnostic sample of patients with EOS may help the advancement of neurodevelopmental biomarkers intended as pharmacological targets to tackle WM impairment.

AB - Schizophrenia, a debilitating disorder with typical manifestation of clinical symptoms in early adulthood, is characterized by cognitive impairments in executive processes such as in working memory (WM). However, there is a rare case of individuals with early-onset schizophrenia (EOS) starting before their 18th birthday, while WM and its neural substrates are still undergoing maturation. Using the WM n-back task with functional magnetic resonance imaging, we assessed the functional neurodevelopment of WM in adolescents with EOS and age- and gender-matched typically developing controls. Participants underwent neuroimaging in the same scanner twice, once at age 17 and at 21 (mean interscan interval = 4.3 years). General linear model analysis was performed to explore WM neurodevelopmental changes within and between groups. Psychopathological scores were entered in multiple regressions to detect brain regions whose longitudinal functional change was predicted by baseline symptoms in EOS. WM neurodevelopment was characterized by widespread functional reductions in frontotemporal and cingulate brain areas in patients and controls. No between-group differences were found in the trajectory of WM change. Baseline symptom scores predicted functional neurodevelopmental changes in frontal, cingulate, parietal, occipital, and cerebellar areas. The adolescent brain undergoes developmental processes such as synaptic pruning, which may underlie the refinement WM of network. Prefrontal and parietooccipital activity reduction is affected by clinical presentation of symptoms. Using longitudinal neuroimaging methods in a rare diagnostic sample of patients with EOS may help the advancement of neurodevelopmental biomarkers intended as pharmacological targets to tackle WM impairment.

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Functional neurodevelopment of working memory in early-onset schizophrenia: A longitudinal FMRI study

Abstract

Keywords

UN SDGs

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