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Cognitive biases and functional brain networks underlying delusions in schizophrenia

University of British Columbia

Integrating evidence that contradicts a belief is a fundamental aspect of belief revision and is closely linked to delusions in schizophrenia. In this research, we examined the cognitive and brain mechanisms underlying disconfirmatory evidence integration, their relation to delusions and the bias against disconfirmatory evidence (BADE) in schizophrenia, as well as associations between changes in delusion severity, BADE, and functional brain activity related to evidence integration. Across three neuroimaging studies, two functional brain networks emerged as central to disconfirmatory evidence integration: a visual attention network (VsAN) including dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and bilateral insula; and a cognitive evaluation network (CEN) involving rostrolateral/orbitofrontal cortex, inferior frontal gyrus, and inferior parietal lobule. In study 1, these networks showed sequential activation and increased activity during disconfirmatory evidence integration, suggesting they were involved in distinct evidence detection and integration processes. In study 2, we found that activity in these networks was differentially associated with delusions, with delusional schizophrenia patients showing VsAN hyperactivity and CEN hypoactivity relative to controls. Subsequent analyses examining associations between activity in these networks and behaviour revealed that BADE was positively associated with VsAN activity during confirmatory evidence integration, and negatively associated with CEN activity during disconfirmatory evidence integration. These findings indicate that VsAN hyperactivity underlies the focus on confirmatory evidence, and CEN hypoactivity the avoidance of disconfirmatory evidence, that contributes to impaired evidence integration and delusion maintenance in schizophrenia. Finally, in study 3, we demonstrated that poorer evidence integration over time was related to greater hyperactivity in the VsAN and hypoactivity in the CEN, from time 1 to time 2, and that improved positive symptoms (including delusions) were associated with normalization of activity in the CEN, showing that activity in these networks fluctuates as a function of changes in behavioural BADE evidence integration and symptoms. This research represents the first comprehensive study of the cognitive and brain mechanisms underlying disconfirmatory evidence integration and behavioural BADE in schizophrenia patients with delusions, and highlights brain networks underlying cognitive biases related to important aspects of delusion maintenance in schizophrenia: the focus on confirmatory evidence; and the avoidance of disconfirmatory evidence.

Text

2018-02-28

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/64707

Neuroscience

University of British Columbia

UBCV

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/