Connecting Neurobiological Features with Interregional Dysconnectivity in Social-Cognitive Impairments of Schizophrenia

Le résumé fourni par la source

Schizophrenia (SZ) is a devastating psychiatric disorder affecting about 1% of the world’spopulation. Social-cognitive impairments in SZ prevent positive social interactions and lead toprogressive social withdrawal. The neurobiological underpinnings of social-cognitive symptomsremain poorly understood, which hinders the development of novel treatments. At the wholebrainlevel, an abnormal activation of social brain regions and interregional dysconnectivity withinsocial-cognitive brain networks have been identified as major contributors to these symptoms. Atthe cellular and subcellular levels, an interplay between oxidative stress, neuroinflammation andN-methyl-D-aspartate receptor hypofunction is thought to underly SZ pathology. However, it is notclear how these molecular processes are linked with interregional dysconnectivity in the genesisof social-cognitive symptoms. Here, we aim to bridge the gap between macroscale (connectivityanalyses) and microscale (molecular and cellular mechanistic) knowledge by proposing impairedmyelination and the disinhibition of local microcircuits as possible causative biological pathwaysleading to dysconnectivity and abnormal activity of the social brain. Furthermore, we recommendelectroencephalography as a promising translational technique that can foster pre-clinical drugdevelopment and discuss attractive drug targets for the treatment of social-cognitive symptoms in SZ.

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