Irreversible Primary Visual Cortex Impairment in a Mouse Model of High-Risk Schizophrenia.

Purpose: Although visual deficits can be observed at any stage of schizophrenia, few studies have focused on visual cortex alterations in individuals at high risk of schizophrenia. This study aimed to investigate the pathological changes of the primary visual cortex in a prenatal mouse model of MK801-induced high-risk schizophrenia.

Methods: The high-risk schizophrenia model was generated by MK801 injection into pregnant mice.

Disrupted pathways from the frontal-parietal cortices to basal nuclei and the cerebellum are a feature of the obsessive-compulsive disorder spectrum and can be used to aid in early differential diagnosis.

A marker for distinguishing patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) spectrum has not yet been identified. Whole-brain resting-state effective and functional connectivity (rsEC and rsFC, respectively) networks were constructed for 50 unmedicated OCD (U-OCD) patients, 45 OCD patients in clinical remission (COCD), 47 treatment-resistant OCD (T-OCD) patients, 42 chronic schizophrenia patients who exhibit OCD symptoms (SCHOCD), and 50 healthy controls (HCs). Multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) was performed to investigate the accuracy of using connectivity alterations to distinguished among the aforementioned groups.

Patients with first-episode untreated schizophrenia who experience concomitant visual disturbances and auditory hallucinations exhibit co-impairment of the brain and retinas-a pilot study.

There are limited structural brain and retina alteration data from schizophrenia patients who experience visual disturbances (VDs) with or without auditory hallucinations (AHs). We compared brain and retina alterations between first-episode untreated schizophrenia patients with VDs (FUSCH-VDs) with versus without AHs, and between patients and healthy controls (HCs)(N = 30/group). VDs, AHs, gray matter volumes (GMVs), and retinal thicknesses were evaluated with the Bonn Scale for Assessment of Basic Symptoms (BSABS) scale, the Auditory Hallucinations Rating Scale (AHRS), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and optical coherence tomography (OCT), respectively.

Disrupted pathways from frontal-parietal cortex to basal ganglia and cerebellum in patients with unmedicated obsessive compulsive disorder as observed by whole-brain resting-state effective connectivity analysis - a small sample pilot study.

Objective: To date, a systematic characterization of abnormalities in resting-state effective connectivity (rsEC) in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is lacking. The present study aimed to systematically characterize whole-brain rsEC in OCD patients as compared to healthy controls.

Methods: Using resting-state fMRI data of 50 unmedicated patients with OCD and 50 healthy participants, we constructed whole-brain rsEC networks using Granger causality analysis followed by univariate and multivariate comparisons between patients and controls.

Global functional connectivity density alterations in patients with bipolar disorder with auditory verbal hallucinations and modest short-term effects of transcranial direct current stimulation augmentation treatment-Baseline and follow-up study.

Objectives: To investigate the neuroimaging characteristics of auditory verbal hallucinations (AVHs) in patients with bipolar disorder (BP) experiencing depressive episodes with and without AVHs, and alterations in those characteristics after transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS).

Methods: For a baseline pilot study, we recruited 80 patients with BP and depressive status (40 with and 40 without AVHs), and 40 healthy controls (HCs). Their global functional connectivity density (gFCD) was screened by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

Ketamine plus propofol-electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) transiently improves the antidepressant effects and the associated brain functional alterations in patients with propofol-ECT-resistant depression.

New methods for using ketamine in patients with propofol-electroconvulsive therapy-resistant depression (ECT-RD) are needed in the clinic. This study aimed to investigate the therapeutic efficacy of ketamine plus ECT in ECT-RD patients, along with the treatment-induced brain alterations. A total of 28 ECT-RD patients were intravenously injected with ketamine six times and treated with propofol-ECT six times alternately within two weeks.

Antipsychotic agent-induced deterioration of the visual system in first-episode untreated patients with schizophrenia maybe self-limited: Findings from a secondary small sample follow-up study based on a pilot follow-up study.

Define changes in the visual cortex and retina in first-episode schizophrenia patients with visual disturbance (FUSCHVD) accompanied by antipsychotic agent treatment is important for guiding treatment. We examined the visual system prior to and after 3 years of antipsychotic-agent treatment in 48 patients with FUSCHVD and 50 healthy controls, and after 3.5 years of antipsychotic-agent treatment in 12 patients with FUSCHVD and 12 healthy subjects who came from the cohort with 3 years of follow up.

Common and distinct brain functional alterations in pharmacotherapy treatment-naïve female borderline personality disorder patients with and without auditory verbal hallucinations: a pilot study.

Auditory verbal hallucinations (AVHs) are experienced by approximately 25% of patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD). Despite the high incidence, the pathological features of AVH in BPD remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate whole-brain functional connectivity (FC), as measured by functional connectivity density (FCD), and its relationship with AVH in BPD.

Reduced rate of revascularization in schizophrenic patients with acute myocardial infarction: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Importance: It has been suggested that patients with schizophrenia have higher than expected mortality following acute coronary events. However, the in-hospital revascularization rate in patients with schizophrenia and acute myocardial infarction (AMI) compared to mentally healthy patients remains unknown.

Objective: To evaluate the revascularization rate in schizophrenic patients after AMI with a meta-analysis of observational studies.

Common and distinct global functional connectivity density alterations in patients with bipolar disorder with and without auditory verbal hallucination during major depressive episodes.

Although an increasing number of studies has explored the neural mechanisms of auditory verbal hallucination (AVH) using many modalities, including neuroimaging, neurotransmitters, and electroencephalography, the etiology of AVH remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the neuroimaging characteristics of AVH in patients with bipolar disorder (BD) experiencing depressive episodes with and without AVH. For this study, we recruited 80 patients with BD and depressive status (40 with and 40 without AVH), and 40 healthy individuals.

Without insight accompanied with deteriorated brain functional alterations in healthy individuals with auditory verbal hallucinations: a pilot study.

Few studies have reported on brain functional differences between healthy individuals with auditory verbal hallucinations (Hi-AVH) with and without insight, so we designed a study to address this knowledge gap. We enrolled 12 Hi-AVH with insight, 15 Hi-AVH without insight, and 15 AVH-free controls (Healthy controls). Global functional connectivity density (gFCD) mapping was used to estimate brain networks.

The rise and fall of MRI studies in major depressive disorder.

Structural and functional brain alterations are common in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). In this review, we assessed the recent literature (1995-2018) on the structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies of MDD. Despite the growing number of MRI studies on MDD, reverse inference is not possible as MRI scans cannot be used to aid in the diagnosis or treatment planning of patients with MDD.

Effects of ketamine on circadian rhythm and synaptic homeostasis in patients with treatment-resistant depression: A protocol for mechanistic studies of its rapid and sustained antidepressant actions in humans.

Background: The breakthrough discovery has been made that a single dose of ketamine, an N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist, achieves rapid and sustained (~7 days) antidepressant activity in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). This discovery has ushered in an exciting era of research and brought new hope for patients with MDD. However, the mechanisms underlying the specific antidepressant actions of ketamine in humans remain to be elucidated.