Task-based default mode network connectivity predicts cognitive
impairment and negative symptoms in first-episode schizophrenia
Abstract
Individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia (SZ) demonstrate difficulty
distinguishing between internally- and externally-generated stimuli.
These aberrations in “source monitoring” have been theorized as
contributing to symptoms of the disorder, including hallucinations and
delusions. Altered connectivity within the default mode network (DMN) of
the brain has been proposed as a mechanism through which discrimination
between self-generated and externally-generated events is disrupted.
Source monitoring abnormalities in SZ have additionally been linked to
impairments in selective attention and inhibitory processing, which are
reliably observed via the N100 component of the event-related brain
potential elicited during an auditory paired-stimulus paradigm. Given
overlapping constructs associated with DMN connectivity and N100 in SZ,
the present investigation evaluated relationships between these measures
of disorder-related dysfunction and sought to clarify the nature of
task-based DMN function in SZ. DMN connectivity and N100 measures were
assessed using EEG recorded from SZ after their first episode of illness
(N = 52) and demographically-matched healthy comparison participants (N=
25). SZ demonstrated less evoked theta-band connectivity within DMN
following presentation of pairs of identical auditory stimuli than HC.
Greater DMN connectivity among SZ was associated with better performance
on measures of sustained attention (p = 0.03) and working memory (p =
0.09), as well as lower severity of negative symptoms, though it was not
predictive of N100 measures. Together, present findings provide EEG
evidence of lower task-based connectivity among first-episode SZ,
reflecting disruptions of DMN functions that support cognitive
processes. Attentional processes captured by N100 appear to be supported
by different neural mechanisms.