Working memory dysfunction in schizophrenia: an investigation of multivariate activation pattern and neural synchrony

精神分裂症的工作记忆功能障碍：多变量激活模式和神经同步性的研究

• 批准号: 502341799
• 负责人: Professor Dr. Daniel Senkowski
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Arbeitsbereich Biologische Psychologie und Kognitive Neurowissenschaft
• 依托单位国家: 德国
• 项目类别: Research Grants
• 资助国家: 德国
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gepris.dfg.de/gepris/projekt/502341799?language=en
• 关键词: Working; memory; dysfunction; schizophrenia; investigation

Schizophrenia (SZ) is a severe mental disorder that is associated with high treatment costs, impaired working capacity, and elevated suicide risk. It is characterized by positive and negative symptoms, but most patients also show neurocognitive deficits, including working memory dysfunction (WM). Previous studies have shown alterations in neural oscillations, especially in the theta (4-7 Hz) and gamma (> 30 Hz) band, during WM processing in SZ. These studies usually focused on one specific WM subdomain deficit and hence, it is difficult to compare findings across experimental paradigms and WM subdomains. Thus far, no comprehensive attempt has been made to directly compare the neural basis of the different WM subdomain deficits in the same group of patients. This is important because it would generate a more unified, empirically-driven theoretical picture of the neural basis of WM deficits in SZ. It could also help in the selection of neuropsychological tests used for the diagnostic assessment of this disorder.The key objective of this project is to examine the neural basis of WM deficits in SZ across different WM subdomains in the same study groups. To this end, we propose three electroencephalography (EEG) experiments in SZ patients and healthy control participants. In the experiments we will investigate neural oscillations, with a focus on theta and gamma band oscillations and their cross-frequency coupling, and the decoding of WM content, as obtained through multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA). The application of MVPA promises increased sensitivity over univariate methods and can help in distinguishing neural activity related to maintenance and processing of specific WM content from content-unspecific general activity. In the experiments we will examine the following WM subdomains: (1) Maintenance of information in relation to memory load; (2) Selection and prioritizing of WM content; (3) Manipulation of WM content through mental relocation. In all experiments the same stimulus material will be used (pictures with faces and houses) and the data will be analyzed in a WM-delay period, which will allow a cross-experiment comparison of data. Moreover, we will investigate the relationships between EEG and behavioral data with positive and negative symptoms in patients. The project will further our understanding of commonalities and differences in the neural basis of WM subdomains between patients and controls and will contribute to a more coherent theoretical picture of WM deficits and their clinical significance in SZ.

精神分裂症（SZ）是一种严重的精神障碍，与高治疗费用，工作能力受损和自杀风险升高有关。它的特点是积极和消极的症状，但大多数患者也表现出神经认知缺陷，包括工作记忆功能障碍（WM）。先前的研究表明，在SZ的WM加工过程中，神经振荡发生了变化，特别是在θ（4-7 Hz）和γ（> 30 Hz）波段。这些研究通常集中在一个特定的工作记忆亚领域的缺陷，因此，很难比较跨实验范式和工作记忆亚领域的研究结果。到目前为止，还没有全面的尝试直接比较同一组患者不同WM子域缺陷的神经基础。这是很重要的，因为它将产生一个更统一的，精神病学驱动的理论图片的神经基础的WM赤字在深圳。它也可以帮助在选择用于诊断评估这种disorder.The主要目标的神经心理学测试是检查在同一研究组的不同WM子域在SZ的WM赤字的神经基础。为此，我们提出了三个脑电图（EEG）在SZ患者和健康对照参与者的实验。在实验中，我们将研究神经振荡，重点是theta和gamma波段振荡及其跨频耦合，以及通过多元模式分析（MVPA）获得的WM内容的解码。MVPA的应用有望增加单变量方法的灵敏度，并可以帮助区分与特定WM内容的维护和处理相关的神经活动与内容非特异性的一般活动。在实验中，我们将考察以下工作记忆子领域：（1）与记忆负荷相关的信息保持;（2）工作记忆内容的选择和优先级排序;（3）通过心理重新定位对工作记忆内容的操纵。在所有实验中，将使用相同的刺激材料（带有人脸和房屋的图片），并将在WM延迟期内分析数据，这将允许对数据进行跨实验比较。此外，我们将探讨脑电图和行为数据与阳性和阴性症状的患者之间的关系。该项目将进一步我们的共同点和差异的神经基础的WM子域之间的患者和对照组的理解，并将有助于一个更连贯的理论图片WM赤字及其临床意义在SZ。