scholarly journals Tracing Links Between Early Auditory Information Processing and Negative Symptoms in Schizophrenia: An ERP Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giulia M. Giordano ◽  
Francesco Brando ◽  
Andrea Perrottelli ◽  
Giorgio Di Lorenzo ◽  
Alberto Siracusano ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Negative Symptom ◽  
Auditory Processing ◽  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Negative Symptoms ◽  
Auditory Information ◽  
Strong Impact ◽  
Symptom Scale ◽  
N100 Amplitude ◽  
Symptom Domains ◽  
Auditory Information Processing

Background: Negative symptoms represent a heterogeneous dimension with a strong impact on functioning of subjects with schizophrenia (SCZ). Five constructs are included in this dimension: anhedonia, asociality, avolition, blunted affect, and alogia. Factor analyses revealed that these symptoms cluster in two domains: experiential domain (avolition, asociality, and anhedonia) and the expressive deficit (alogia and blunted affect), that might be linked to different neurobiological alterations. Few studies investigated associations between N100, an electrophysiological index of early sensory processing, and negative symptoms, reporting controversial results. However, none of these studies investigated electrophysiological correlates of the two negative symptom domains.Objectives: The aim of our study was to evaluate, within the multicenter study of the Italian Network for Research on Psychoses, the relationships between N100 and negative symptom domains in SCZ.Methods: Auditory N100 was analyzed in 114 chronic stabilized SCZ and 63 healthy controls (HCs). Negative symptoms were assessed with the Brief Negative Symptom Scale (BNSS). Repeated measures ANOVA and correlation analyses were performed to evaluate differences between SCZ and HCs and association of N100 features with negative symptoms.Results: Our findings demonstrated a significant N100 amplitude reduction in SCZ compared with HCs. In SCZ, N100 amplitude for standard stimuli was associated with negative symptoms, in particular with the expressive deficit domain. Within the expressive deficit, blunted affect and alogia had the same pattern of correlation with N100.Conclusion: Our findings revealed an association between expressive deficit and N100, suggesting that these negative symptoms might be related to deficits in early auditory processing in SCZ.

Neurophysiological correlates of negative symptom domains in patients with schizophrenia

2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (S1) ◽  
pp. s265-s265
Author(s):  
A. Vignapiano ◽  
V. Montefusco ◽  
G.M. Plescia ◽  
G. Di Lorenzo ◽  
C. Niolu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Negative Symptom ◽  
Negative Symptoms ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Event Related Potentials ◽  
Central Feature ◽  
Symptom Scale ◽  
Symptom Domains ◽  
Related Potentials ◽  
Competing Interest

IntroductionNegative symptoms have long been recognized as a central feature of schizophrenia, which limit recovery, having a strong negative impact on real-life functioning. External validators of the negative symptoms domains might help refining hypotheses on their pathophysiological basis.AimsThe objective of this study was to evaluate, in the context of the multicenter study of the Italian Network for Research on Psychoses, the relationships between auditory event-related potentials (ERPs) components and negative symptom domains in patients with schizophrenia (SCZ).MethodsWe examined ERPs recorded during an auditory odd-ball task in 115 chronic stabilized SCZ (78% on second-generation antipsychotics) and 62 matched healthy controls (HC). Negative symptoms were assessed using the Brief Negative Symptom Scale.ResultsOur main findings included significant N100 and P3b amplitude reductions in SCZ compared to HC. P3b amplitude did not correlate with any negative symptom domain, while N100 amplitude correlated with both anhedonia and avolition domains.ConclusionsAvolition and anhedonia, often clustering in the same factor, are related to abnormalities of early components of the ERPs correlated with perceptual and automatic attention processes. None of the negative symptom domains is associated with abnormalities of the later stages indexed by P3 amplitude.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

scholarly journals Network Analysis Reveals Which Negative Symptom Domains Are Most Central in Schizophrenia vs Bipolar Disorder

2019 ◽  
Vol 45 (6) ◽  
pp. 1319-1330 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory Paul Strauss ◽  
Farnaz Zamani Esfahlani ◽  
Brian Kirkpatrick ◽  
Daniel N Allen ◽  
James M Gold ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bipolar Disorder ◽  
Network Analysis ◽  
Negative Symptom ◽  
Negative Symptoms ◽  
Symptom Scale ◽  
Treatment Development ◽  
Symptom Domains ◽  
Network Connectedness ◽  
Network Properties ◽  
Males And Females

Abstract Network analysis was used to examine how densely interconnected individual negative symptom domains are, whether some domains are more central than others, and whether sex influenced network structure. Participants included outpatients with schizophrenia (SZ; n = 201), a bipolar disorder (BD; n = 46) clinical comparison group, and healthy controls (CN; n = 27) who were rated on the Brief Negative Symptom Scale. The mutual information measure was used to construct negative symptom networks. Groups were compared on macroscopic network properties to evaluate overall network connectedness, and microscopic properties to determine which domains were most central. Macroscopic analyses indicated that patients with SZ had a less densely connected negative symptom network than BD or CN groups, and that males with SZ had less densely connected networks than females. Microscopic analyses indicated that alogia and avolition were most central in the SZ group, whereas anhedonia was most central in BD and CN groups. In addition, blunted affect, alogia, and asociality were most central in females with SZ, and alogia and avolition were most central in males with SZ. These findings suggest that negative symptoms may be highly treatment resistant in SZ because they are not very densely connected. Less densely connected networks may make treatments less likely to achieve global reductions in negative symptoms because individual domains function in isolation with little interaction. Sex differences in centralities suggest that the search for pathophysiological mechanisms and targeted treatment development should be focused on different sets of symptoms in males and females.

scholarly journals Avolition as the core negative symptom in schizophrenia: relevance to pharmacological treatment development

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory P. Strauss ◽  
Lisa A. Bartolomeo ◽  
Philip D. Harvey
Keyword(s):  
Negative Symptom ◽  
Negative Symptoms ◽  
Clinical Trial Design ◽  
Core Component ◽  
Treatment Target ◽  
Global Improvement ◽  
Treatment Development ◽  
The Core ◽  
Current Review ◽  
Symptom Domains

AbstractNegative symptoms have long been considered a core component of schizophrenia. Modern conceptualizations of the structure of negative symptoms posit that there are at least two broad dimensions (motivation and pleasure and diminished expression) or perhaps five separable domains (avolition, anhedonia, asociality, blunted affect, alogia). The current review synthesizes a body of emerging research indicating that avolition may have a special place among these dimensions, as it is generally associated with poorer outcomes and may have distinct neurobiological mechanisms. Network analytic findings also indicate that avolition is highly central and interconnected with the other negative symptom domains in schizophrenia, and successfully remediating avolition results in global improvement in the entire constellation of negative symptoms. Avolition may therefore reflect the most critical treatment target within the negative symptom construct. Implications for targeted treatment development and clinical trial design are discussed.

scholarly journals Aberrant Frontostriatal Connectivity in Negative Symptoms of Schizophrenia

2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (5) ◽  
pp. 1051-1059 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dinesh K Shukla ◽  
Joshua John Chiappelli ◽  
Hemalatha Sampath ◽  
Peter Kochunov ◽  
Stephanie M Hare ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Negative Symptom ◽  
Negative Symptoms ◽  
Imaging Study ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Resting State Functional Connectivity ◽  
Symptom Scale ◽  
Distinct Component ◽  
The Right

AbstractNegative symptoms represent a distinct component of psychopathology in schizophrenia (SCZ) and are a stable construct over time. Although impaired frontostriatal connectivity has been frequently described in SCZ, its link with negative symptoms has not been carefully studied. We tested the hypothesis that frontostriatal connectivity at rest may be associated with the severity of negative symptoms in SCZ. Resting state functional connectivity (rsFC) data from 95 mostly medicated patients with SCZ and 139 healthy controls (HCs) were acquired. Negative symptoms were assessed using the Brief Negative Symptom Scale. The study analyzed voxel-wise rsFC between 9 frontal “seed regions” and the entire striatum, with the intention to reduce potential biases introduced by predefining any single frontal or striatal region. SCZ showed significantly reduced rsFC between the striatum and the right medial and lateral orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), lateral prefrontal cortex, and rostral anterior cingulate cortex compared with HCs. Further, rsFC between the striatum and the right medial OFC was significantly associated with negative symptom severity. The involved striatal regions were primarily at the ventral putamen. Our results support reduced frontostriatal functional connectivity in SCZ and implicate striatal connectivity with the right medial OFC in negative symptoms. This task-independent resting functional magnetic resonance imaging study showed that medial OFC–striatum functional connectivity is reduced in SCZ and associated with severity of negative symptoms. This finding supports a significant association between frontostriatal connectivity and negative symptoms and thus may provide a potential circuitry-level biomarker to study the neurobiological mechanisms of negative symptoms.

scholarly journals The efficacy of cariprazine in negative symptoms of schizophrenia: Post hoc analyses of PANSS individual items and PANSS-derived factors

2019 ◽  
Vol 58 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wolfgang Fleischhacker ◽  
Silvana Galderisi ◽  
István Laszlovszky ◽  
Balázs Szatmári ◽  
Ágota Barabássy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Negative Symptom ◽  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Negative Symptoms ◽  
Social Withdrawal ◽  
Partial Agonist ◽  
Factor Models ◽  
Symptom Improvement ◽  
Symptom Dimensions ◽  
Intent To Treat ◽  
Post Hoc

AbstractBackground:Negative symptoms in schizophrenia are heterogeneous and multidimensional; effective treatments are lacking. Cariprazine, a dopamine D3-preferring D3/D2 receptor partial agonist and serotonin 5-HT1A receptor partial agonist, was significantly more effective than risperidone in treating negative symptoms in a prospectively designed trial in patients with schizophrenia and persistent, predominant negative symptoms.Methods:Using post hoc analyses, we evaluated change from baseline at week 26 in individual items of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and PANSS-derived factor models using a mixed-effects model for repeated measures (MMRM) in the intent-to-treat (ITT) population (cariprazine = 227; risperidone = 227).Results:Change from baseline was significantly different in favor of cariprazine versus risperidone on PANSS items N1-N5 (blunted affect, emotional withdrawal, poor rapport, passive/apathetic social withdrawal, difficulty in abstract thinking) (P <.05), but not on N6 (lack of spontaneity/flow of conversation) or N7 (stereotyped thinking). On all PANSS-derived negative symptom factor models evaluated (PANSS-Factor Score for Negative Symptoms, Liemburg factors, Khan factors, Pentagonal Structure Model Negative Symptom factor), statistically significant improvement was demonstrated for cariprazine versus risperidone (P <.01). Small and similar changes in positive/depressive/EPS symptoms suggested that negative symptom improvement was not pseudospecific. Change from baseline was significantly different for cariprazine versus risperidone on PANSS-based factors evaluating other relevant symptom domains (disorganized thoughts, prosocial function, cognition; P <.05).Conclusions:Since items representing different negative symptom dimensions may represent different fundamental pathophysiological mechanisms, significant improvement versus risperidone on most PANSS Negative Subscale items and across all PANSS-derived factors suggests broad-spectrum efficacy for cariprazine in treating negative symptoms of schizophrenia.

scholarly journals Negative Symptom Domains Are Associated With Verbal Learning in Adolescents With Early Onset Psychosis

2022 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynn Mørch-Johnsen ◽  
Runar Elle Smelror ◽  
Dimitrios Andreou ◽  
Claudia Barth ◽  
Cecilie Johannessen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Negative Symptom ◽  
Early Onset ◽  
Negative Symptoms ◽  
Factor Model ◽  
Verbal Learning ◽  
Confirmatory Factor ◽  
Symptom Domains ◽  
Symptom Scores ◽  
Early Onset Psychosis

Background: Early-onset psychosis (EOP) is among the leading causes of disease burden in adolescents. Negative symptoms and cognitive deficits predicts poorer functional outcome. A better understanding of the association between negative symptoms and cognitive impairment may inform theories on underlying mechanisms and elucidate targets for development of new treatments. Two domains of negative symptoms have been described in adult patients with schizophrenia: apathy and diminished expression, however, the factorial structure of negative symptoms has not been investigated in EOP. We aimed to explore the factorial structure of negative symptoms and investigate associations between cognitive performance and negative symptom domains in adolescents with EOP. We hypothesized that (1) two negative symptom factors would be identifiable, and that (2) diminished expression would be more strongly associated with cognitive performance, similar to adult psychosis patients.Methods: Adolescent patients with non-affective EOP (n = 169) were included from three cohorts: Youth-TOP, Norway (n = 45), Early-Onset Study, Norway (n = 27) and Adolescent Schizophrenia Study, Mexico (n = 97). An exploratory factor analysis was performed to investigate the underlying structure of negative symptoms (measured with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS)). Factor-models were further assessed using confirmatory factor analyses. Associations between negative symptom domains and six cognitive domains were assessed using multiple linear regression models controlling for age, sex and cohort. The neurocognitive domains from the MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery included: speed of processing, attention, working memory, verbal learning, visual learning, and reasoning and problem solving.Results: The exploratory factor analysis of PANSS negative symptoms suggested retaining only a single factor, but a forced two factor solution corroborated previously described factors of apathy and diminished expression in adult-onset schizophrenia. Results from confirmatory factor analysis indicated a better fit for the two-factor model than for the one-factor model. For both negative symptom domains, negative symptom scores were inversely associated with verbal learning scores.Conclusion: The results support the presence of two domains of negative symptoms in EOP; apathy and diminished expression. Future studies on negative symptoms in EOP should examine putative differential effects of these symptom domains. For both domains, negative symptom scores were significantly inversely associated with verbal learning.

scholarly journals S71. CLINICAL, BEHAVIOURAL AND NEURAL VALIDATION OF THE POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE SYMPTOM SCALE (PANSS) AMOTIVATION FACTOR

2020 ◽  
Vol 46 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S61-S61
Author(s):  
Mariia Kaliuzhna ◽  
Matthias Kirschner ◽  
Fabien Carruzzo ◽  
Matthias Hartmann ◽  
Bischof Martin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Factor Structure ◽  
Negative Symptom ◽  
Negative Symptoms ◽  
Symptom Assessment ◽  
Symptom Scale ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Reward Anticipation ◽  
Two Factors ◽  
Highly Correlated ◽  
Assessment Scales

Abstract Background Negative symptoms of schizophrenia are suggested to map onto two distinct factors – amotivation and diminished expression, which relate to different aspects of behaviour and neural activity. Most research in patients with schizophrenia is conducted with broad symptom assessment scales, such as the PANSS, for which factor solutions allowing the distinction between amotivation and diminished expression have only recently been reported. We aimed to establish whether the PANSS factor structure corresponds to the well-established two-factor structure of the Brief Negative Symptom Scale (BNSS) and whether it allows distinguishing specific behavioural and neuronal correlates of amotivation. Methods In study 1 (N=120) we examined the correlations between the PANSS factors and the BNSS factors. In study 2 (N=31) we examined whether PANSS amotivation is specifically associated with reduced willingness to work for reward in an effort-based decision making task. In study 3 (N=43) we investigated whether PANSS amotivation is specifically correlated with reduced ventral striatal activation during reward anticipation using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Results On the clinical level, the PANSS amotivation and diminished expression were highly correlated with their BNSS counterparts. On the behavioural level, PANSS amotivation factor but not the diminished expression factor was specifically associated with reduced willingness to invest effort to obtain a reward. On the neural level, PANSS amotivation was specifically associated with ventral striatal activation during reward anticipation. Discussion Our data confirm that the two domains of negative symptoms can be measured with the PANSS and are linked to specific aspects of behaviour and brain function. To our knowledge, this is the first study employing behavioural and neural measures to validate a new approach to clinical measurement of negative symptoms. Our results warrant a re-analysis of previous work that used the PANSS to further substantiate the distinction between the two factors in behavioural and neuroimaging studies.

scholarly journals Network Analysis Reveals the Latent Structure of Negative Symptoms in Schizophrenia

2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (5) ◽  
pp. 1033-1041 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory P Strauss ◽  
Farnaz Zamani Esfahlani ◽  
Silvana Galderisi ◽  
Armida Mucci ◽  
Alessandro Rossi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Network Analysis ◽  
Negative Symptom ◽  
Negative Symptoms ◽  
Null Model ◽  
Detection Algorithm ◽  
Latent Structure ◽  
Symptom Scale ◽  
Mathematical Techniques ◽  
Community Detection Algorithm

Abstract Prior studies using exploratory factor analysis provide evidence that negative symptoms are best conceptualized as 2 dimensions reflecting diminished motivation and expression. However, the 2-dimensional model has yet to be evaluated using more complex mathematical techniques capable of testing structure. In the current study, network analysis was applied to evaluate the latent structure of negative symptoms using a community-detection algorithm. Two studies were conducted that included outpatients with schizophrenia (SZ; Study 1: n = 201; Study 2: n = 912) who were rated on the Brief Negative Symptom Scale (BNSS). In both studies, network analysis indicated that the 13 BNSS items divided into 6 negative symptom domains consisting of anhedonia, avolition, asociality, blunted affect, alogia, and lack of normal distress. Separation of these domains was statistically significant with reference to a null model of randomized networks. There has been a recent trend toward conceptualizing the latent structure of negative symptoms in relation to 2 distinct dimensions reflecting diminished expression and motivation. However, the current results obtained using network analysis suggest that the 2-dimensional conceptualization is not complex enough to capture the nature of the negative symptom construct. Similar to recent confirmatory factor analysis studies, network analysis revealed that the latent structure of negative symptom is best conceptualized in relation to the 5 domains identified in the 2005 National Institute of Mental Health consensus development conference (anhedonia, avolition, asociality, blunted affect, and alogia) and potentially a sixth domain consisting of lack of normal distress. Findings have implications for identifying pathophysiological mechanisms and targeted treatments.

The second-generation assessment scales: Brief negative symptom scale and clinical assessment interview for negative symptoms

2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (S1) ◽  
pp. S70-S70
Author(s):  
A. Mucci ◽  
S. Galderisi
Keyword(s):  
Negative Symptom ◽  
Clinical Assessment ◽  
Negative Symptoms ◽  
Assessment Instruments ◽  
Symptom Scale ◽  
Assessment Interview ◽  
Competing Interest ◽  
Functional Outcome Measures ◽  
Internal Experience ◽  
Assessment Scales

The construct of negative symptoms has undergone significant changes since the introduction of first generation assessment scales, such as the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms or the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale. Blunted affect, Alogia, Asociality, Anhedonia and Avolition are largely recognized as valid domains of the negative symptoms construct.Among the new assessment instruments, both the Brief Negative Symptom Scale (BNSS) and the Clinical Assessment Interview for Negative Symptoms (CAINS) are considered adequate in their coverage of the negative symptoms domains. They include the assessment of both behavior and internal experience for Anhedonia, Asociality and Avolition to avoid overlap with functional outcome measures, as well as consummatory and anticipatory components of anhedonia with an emphasis on the internal experience of pleasure.Strengths and limitations of these new assessment instruments will be reviewed in the light of some existing challenges, such as the distinction between primary and secondary negative symptoms and development of innovative treatments.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

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