RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Whole-Brain Source-Reconstructed MEG-Data Reveal Reduced Long-Range Synchronization in Chronic Schizophrenia
JF eneuro
JO eNeuro
FD Society for Neuroscience
SP ENEURO.0338-17.2017
DO 10.1523/ENEURO.0338-17.2017
VO 4
IS 5
A1 Jonni Hirvonen
A1 Michael Wibral
A1 J. Matias Palva
A1 Wolf Singer
A1 Peter Uhlhaas
A1 Satu Palva
YR 2017
UL http://www.eneuro.org/content/4/5/ENEURO.0338-17.2017.abstract
AB Current theories of schizophrenia (ScZ) posit that the symptoms and cognitive dysfunctions arise from a dysconnection syndrome. However, studies that have examined this hypothesis with physiological data at realistic time scales are so far scarce. The current study employed a state-of-the-art approach using Magnetoencephalography (MEG) to test alterations in large-scale phase synchronization in a sample of n = 16 chronic ScZ patients, 10 males and n = 19 healthy participants, 10 males, during a perceptual closure task. We identified large-scale networks from source reconstructed MEG data using data-driven analyses of neuronal synchronization. Oscillation amplitudes and interareal phase-synchronization in the 3–120 Hz frequency range were estimated for 400 cortical parcels and correlated with clinical symptoms and neuropsychological scores. ScZ patients were characterized by a reduction in γ-band (30–120 Hz) oscillation amplitudes that was accompanied by a pronounced deficit in large-scale synchronization at γ-band frequencies. Synchronization was reduced within visual regions as well as between visual and frontal cortex and the reduction of synchronization correlated with elevated clinical disorganization. Accordingly, these data highlight that ScZ is associated with a profound disruption of transient synchronization, providing critical support for the notion that core aspect of the pathophysiology arises from an impairment in coordination of distributed neural activity.