Aberrant striatal coupling with default mode and central executive network relates to self-reported avolition and anhedonia in schizophrenia.

Background: Avolition and anhedonia are common symptoms in schizophrenia and are related to poor long-term prognosis. There is evidence for aberrant cortico-striatal function and connectivity as neural substrate of avolition and anhedonia. However, it remains unclear how both relate to shared or distinct striatal coupling with large-scale intrinsic networks. Using resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) this study investigated the association of large-scale cortico-striatal functional connectivity with self-reported and clinician-rated avolition and anhedonia in subjects with schizophrenia.

Methods: Seventeen subjects with schizophrenia (SZ) and 28 healthy controls (HC) underwent rs-fMRI. Using Independent Component Analysis (ICA), we assessed Independent Components (ICs) reflecting intrinsic connectivity networks (ICNs), intra intrinsic functional connectivity within the ICs (intra-iFC), and intrinsic functional connectivity between different ICs (inter-iFC). Avolition and anhedonia were assessed using the Self Evaluation Scale for Negative Symptoms and the Brief Negative Symptom Scale.

Results: ICA revealed three striatal components and six cortical ICNs. Both self-rated avolition and anhedonia correlated with increased inter-iFC between the caudate and posterior Default Mode Network (pDMN) and between the caudate and Central Executive Network (CEN). In contrast, clinician-rated avolition and anhedonia were not correlated with cortico-striatal connectivity. Group comparison revealed trend-wise decreased inter-iFC between the caudate and Salience Network (SN) in schizophrenia patients compared to HC.

Discussion: Self-rated, but not clinician-rated, avolition and anhedonia was associated with aberrant striatal coupling with the default mode and the central executive network. These findings suggest that self-reported and clinician-rated scores might capture different aspects of motivational and hedonic deficits in schizophrenia and therefore relate to different cortico-striatal functional abnormalities.