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Context-specific abnormalities of the central executive network in first-episode psychosis: relationship with cognition

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 November 2020

Deepak K. Sarpal Open the ORCID record for Deepak K. Sarpal [Opens in a new window] ,
Goda Tarcijonas ,
Finnegan J. Calabro ,
William Foran ,
Gretchen L. Haas ,
Beatriz Luna  and
Vishnu P. Murty
Deepak K. Sarpal*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Goda Tarcijonas
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Finnegan J. Calabro
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
William Foran
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Gretchen L. Haas
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Beatriz Luna
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA Department of Pediatrics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Vishnu P. Murty
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
*
Author for correspondence: Deepak K. Sarpal, E-mail: sarpaldk@upmc.edu
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Abstract

Background

Cognitive impairments, which contribute to the profound functional deficits observed in psychotic disorders, have found to be associated with abnormalities in trial-level cognitive control. However, neural tasks operate within the context of sustained cognitive states, which can be assessed with ‘background connectivity’ following the removal of task effects. To date, little is known about the integrity of brain processes supporting the maintenance of a cognitive state in individuals with psychotic disorders. Thus, here we examine background connectivity during executive processing in a cohort of participants with first-episode psychosis (FEP).

Methods

The following fMRI study examined background connectivity of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), during working memory engagement in a group of 43 patients with FEP, relative to 35 healthy controls (HC). Findings were also examined in relation to measures of executive function.

Results

The FEP group relative to HC showed significantly lower background DLPFC connectivity with bilateral superior parietal lobule (SPL) and left inferior parietal lobule. Background connectivity between DLPFC and SPL was also positively associated with overall cognition across all subjects and in our FEP group. In comparison, resting-state frontoparietal connectivity did not differ between groups and was not significantly associated with overall cognition, suggesting that psychosis-related alterations in executive networks only emerged during states of goal-oriented behavior.

Conclusions

These results provide novel evidence indicating while frontoparietal connectivity at rest appears intact in psychosis, when engaged during a cognitive state, it is impaired possibly undermining cognitive control capacities in FEP.

Keywords

CognitionfMRIfunctional connectivitypsychosisschizophreniaworking memory
Type
Original Article
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 52 , Issue 12 , September 2022 , pp. 2299 - 2308
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

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