Aberrant cerebro-cerebellar functional connectivity and minimal self-disturbance in individuals at ultra-high risk for psychosis and with first-episode schizophrenia.
Schizophrenia research December 1, 2018 Minji Bang, Hae-Jeong Park, Chongwon Pae et al. 23 citations
Minimal self-disturbance, a core feature of schizophrenia, is linked to altered connectivity between the cerebellum and the brain's default mode network. In a resting-state fMRI study, individuals at ultra-high risk for psychosis and first-episode schizophrenia patients showed reduced cerebellar functional connectivity with the presupplementary motor area, anterior prefrontal cortex, and precuneus compared to healthy controls. Ultra-high-risk individuals exhibited intermediate reductions. Minimal self-disturbance severity, similar in both clinical groups, correlated with these connectivity patterns, though the associations differed between groups. Aberrant cerebro-cerebellar connectivity may offer insights into schizophrenia's core pathology and help predict psychosis in at-risk individuals.