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Morese_2023_MDPI_jcm_Alteration of the Functional Connectivity
Journal article

Alteration of the functional connectivity of the cortical areas characterized by the presence of von Economo neurons in schizophrenia, a pilot study

  • Brasso, Claudio Department of Neuroscience “Rita Levi Montalcini”, University of Turin, Italy - Struttura Complessa di Psichiatria Universitaria, Dipartimento di Neuroscienze e Salute Mentale, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria “Città della Salute e della Scienza di Torino”, Italy
  • Stanziano, Mario Department of Neuroscience “Rita Levi Montalcini”, University of Turin, Italy - Neuroradiology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico “Carlo Besta”, Milan, Italy
  • Bosco, Francesca Marina Research Group on Inferential Processes in Social Interaction (GIPSI), Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Italy
  • Morese, Rosalba ORCID Facoltà di comunicazione, cultura e società, Università della Svizzera italiana, Svizzera - Faculty of Biomedical Sciences, Università della Svizzera italiana, Switzerland
  • Valentini, Maria Consuelo Struttura Complessa di Neuroradiologia, Dipartimento Diagnostica per Immagini e Radiologia Interventistica, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria “Città della Salute e della Scienza di Torino”, Italy
  • Vercelli, Alessandro Department of Neuroscience “Rita Levi Montalcini”, University of Turin, Italy - Neuroscience Institute Cavalieri Ottolenghi (NICO), Orbassano, Italy
  • Rocca, Paola Department of Neuroscience “Rita Levi Montalcini”, University of Turin, Italy - Struttura Complessa di Psichiatria Universitaria, Dipartimento di Neuroscienze e Salute Mentale, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria “Città della Salute e della Scienza di Torino”, Italy
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  • 2023
Published in:
  • Journal of clinical medicine. - 2023, vol. 12, no. 4, p. 1377
von Economo neurons
VENs
fMRI
Schizophrenia
Resting-state functional connectivity
Salience network
Negative symptoms
Functioning
Anterior insula
Ventral tegmental area
English Von Economo neurons (VENs) are rod, stick, or corkscrew cells mostly located in layer V of the frontoinsular and anterior cingulate cortices. VENs are projection neurons related to human-like social cognitive abilities. Post-mortem histological studies found VEN alterations in several neuropsychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia (SZ). This pilot study aimed to evaluate the role of VEN-containing areas in shaping patterns of resting-state brain activation in patients with SZ (n = 20) compared to healthy controls (HCs; n = 20). We performed a functional connectivity analysis seeded in the cortical areas with the highest density of VENs followed by fuzzy clustering. The alterations found in the SZ group were correlated with psychopathological, cognitive, and functioning variables. We found a frontotemporal network that was shared by four clusters overlapping with the salience, superior-frontal, orbitofrontal, and central executive networks. Differences between the HC and SZ groups emerged only in the salience network. The functional connectivity of the right anterior insula and ventral tegmental area within this network were negatively correlated with experiential negative symptoms and positively correlated with functioning. This study provides some evidence to show that in vivo, VEN-enriched cortical areas are associated with an altered resting-state brain activity in people with SZ.
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Language
  • English
Classification
Medicine
License
CC BY
Open access status
gold
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Persistent URL
https://n2t.net/ark:/12658/srd1332030
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