Interhemispheric functional connectivity in chronic schizophrenia:a voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity MRI study

MA Cheng; GONG Hejun; YANG Hai

Abstract：Objective To investigate the resting-state functional connectivity between the two hemispheres in chronic schizo-phrenia using voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity ( VMHC) based on resting state functional MRI ( fMRI) .Methods Twenty-one chronic schizophrenia patients and 24 healthy volunteers matched for age and sex underwent resting-state fMRI scans in a 1.5 T scanner.The data were pre-processed by DPARSF and then the VMHC values were calculated by REST software .The VMHC values between the two groups were compared by two-sample t-test.The statistical map with significant differences of VMHC value was obtained .Exploratory linear correlations analyses were performed between the VMHC of regions showing significant group differences and the PANSS ( Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale ) of the patients .Results Compared to the controls , patients showed significant VMHC decreases in the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC), anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) ( P <0.05, Alphasim corrected).VMHC of ACC was negatively correlated with the positive PANSS and total PANSS ( r =-0.57, P =0.008;r =-0.62, P =0.003), VMHC of MPFC was negatively correlated with the positive PANSS and total PANSS ( r =-0.44, P =0.047;r =-0.75, P <0.001), and VMHC of DLPFC was positively correlated with the negative PANSS ( r =-0.61, P =0.003).Conclusion The functional coordination between homotopic brain regions is im-paired in chronic schizophrenia patients .Interhemispheric RSFC may serve as a useful method for evaluating schizophrenia where neural connectivity is implicated in the pathophysiology .