Abstract：
Living in high-expressed emotion (EE) environments, characterized by critical, hostile, or over-involved family attitudes, has been linked to increased relapse rates among individuals with schizophrenia (SZ). In our previous work (Wang et al., 2023), we conducted the first feasibility study of using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) with our developed EE stimuli to examine cortical hemodynamics in SZ. To better understand the neural mechanisms underlying EE environmental factors in SZ, we extended our investigation by employing functional connectivity (FC) analysis with a graph theory approach to fNIRS signals. Relative to healthy controls (N=40), individuals with SZ (N=37) exhibited altered connectivity across the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC), and left superior temporal gyrus (STG) while exposed to EE environments. Notably, while individuals with SZ were exposed to high-EE environments, (i) reduced connectivity was observed in these brain regions and (ii) the left vlPFC-STG coupling was found to be associated with the negative symptom severity. Taken together, our FC findings suggest individuals with SZ experience a more extensive disruption in neural functioning and coordination, particularly indicating an increased susceptibility to high-EE environments. This further supports the potential utility of integrating fNIRS with the created EE stimuli for assessing EE environmental influences, paving the way for more targeted therapeutic interventions.
摘要：
生活在高表达情感（EE）的环境中，以批判为特征，敌意,或者过度参与的家庭态度，与精神分裂症患者（SZ）的复发率增加有关。在我们以前的工作中(Wang等人。,2023),我们进行了首次可行性研究,即使用功能性近红外光谱(fNIRS)和我们开发的EE刺激来检查SZ的皮质血流动力学.为了更好地理解SZEE环境因素的神经机制，我们通过使用图论方法对fNIRS信号进行功能连通性（FC）分析来扩展我们的研究。相对于健康对照（N=40），SZ（N=37）的个体表现出跨内侧前额叶皮质（mPFC）的连通性改变，左腹外侧前额叶皮质(vlPFC),暴露于EE环境时左颞上回（STG）。值得注意的是,当SZ患者暴露于高EE环境时，(i)在这些脑区域中观察到降低的连通性,并且(ii)发现左vlPFC-STG偶联与阴性症状严重程度相关。一起来看,我们的FC研究结果表明，SZ患者的神经功能和协调能力受到了更广泛的破坏，特别是表明对高EE环境的敏感性增加。这进一步支持了将fNIRS与创建的EE刺激集成在一起以评估EE环境影响的潜在效用。为更有针对性的治疗干预措施铺平道路。
