Functional disconnection between the visual cortex and the sensorimotor cortex suggests a potential mechanism for self-disorder in schizophrenia

Abstract

Self-disorder is a hallmark characteristic of schizophrenia. This deficit may stem from an inability to efficiently integrate multisensory bodily signals. Twenty-nine schizophrenia patients and thirty-one healthy controls underwent resting-state fMRI in this study. A data-driven method, functional connectivity density mapping (FCD), was used to investigate cortical functional connectivity changes in the patients. Areas with significantly different FCD were chosen to calculate functional connectivity maps. The schizophrenia patients exhibited increased local FCD in frontal areas while demonstrating decreased local FCD in the primary sensorimotor area and in the occipital lobe. The functional connectivity analysis illustrated decreased functional connectivity between visual areas and the primary sensorimotor area. These findings suggest disturbed integration in perception-motor processing, which may contribute to mapping the neural physiopathology associated with self-disorder in schizophrenia patients.

Clinical trial registration: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry. Registration number. ChiCTR-RCS-14004878.

Keywords: Data-driven method; Primary perceptional system; Resting-state fMRI; Schizophrenia; Self-disorder.