Cerebellar-Prefrontal Network Connectivity and Negative Symptoms in Schizophrenia

摘要

Objective: The interpretability of results in psychiatric neuroimaging is significantly limited by an overreliance on correlational relationships. Purely correlational studies cannot alone determine whether behavior-imaging relationships are causal to illness, functionally compensatory processes, or purely epiphenomena. Negative symptoms (e.g., anhedonia, amotivation, and expressive deficits) are refractory to current medications and are among the foremost causes of disability in schizophrenia. The authors used a two-step approach in identifying and then empirically testing a brain network model of schizophrenia symptoms.