Evidence for Thalamocortical Circuit Abnormalities and Associated Cognitive Dysfunctions in Underweight Individuals with Anorexia Nervosa
Evidence for Thalamocortical Circuit Abnormalities and Associated Cognitive Dysfunctions in Underweight Individuals with Anorexia Nervosa
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DOI：
10.1038/npp.2015.314
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发表时间：
2016-05-01
影响因子：
7.6
通讯作者：
Posner, Jonathan
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Biezonski, Dominik;Cha, Jiook;Posner, Jonathan
神经性厌食症（AN）的特点是病理性食物限制导致体重极低，是所有精神疾病中死亡率最高的。AN，特别是在急性、体重不足的疾病状态下，与包括额叶皮质和基底神经节在内的一系列大脑区域的异常有关。很少有关于AN的研究涉及丘脑，它是额基底神经节回路中信息流动的关键媒介。我们使用解剖MRI检查丘脑表面形态，使用静息状态功能MRI检查丘脑-额叶功能连接。与健康对照（HC, n= 22）相比，AN患者（n = 28）表现出丘脑局部向内变形，并且丘脑与背外侧和前额叶前部皮质之间的功能连接异常。丘脑-额叶连通性的改变与探测认知控制（Stroop任务）和工作记忆（字母-数字排序（LNS）任务）的表现缺陷有关。我们的研究结果表明，丘脑-额叶回路的异常可能在体重不足的AN患者的认知功能障碍方面起着调节作用。
Anorexia nervosa (AN) is characterized by extremely low body weight resulting from pathological food restriction, and carries a mortality rate among the highest of any psychiatric illness. AN, particularly during the acute, underweight state of the illness, has been associated with abnormalities across a range of brain regions, including the frontal cortex and basal ganglia. Few studies of AN have investigated the thalamus, a key mediator of information flow through frontal-basal ganglia circuit loops. We examined both thalamic surface morphology using anatomical MRI and thalamo-frontal functional connectivity using resting-state functional MRI. Individuals with AN (n = 28) showed localized inward deformations of the thalamus relative to healthy controls (HC, n= 22), and abnormal functional connectivity between the thalamus and the dorsolateral and anterior prefrontal cortices. Alterations in thalamo-frontal connectivity were associated with deficits in performance on tasks probing cognitive control (Stroop task) and working memory (Letter-Number Sequencing (LNS) task). Our findings suggest that abnormalities in thalamo-frontal circuits may have a role in mediating aspects of cognitive dysfunction in underweight individuals with AN.