Functional (Dys-)Connectivity

In addition to clinically relevant differences in BOLD amplitude, differences in connectivity can be observed in patients with mental disorders, which could be explained by dysfunctional processing. In the TNM-lab functional connectivity, as indication of successful information flow between brain regions, is considered a relevant marker of dysfunctional processing. For example, a dysfunctional fronto-temporal connectivity could explain dysfunctions in patients with schizophrenia for the processing of gestures in an abstract sentence context (Straube et al., 2014). Furthermore, Dynamic Causal Modelling (DCM) suggests impaired effective connectivity in verbal pathways of patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders during gesture-speech integration (Wroblewski et al., 2020).

Another clinically relevant example suggests that a dysfunctional coupling between anterior cingulate cortex and the amygdala is related to non-response in a cognitive behavioral therapy (Lueken et al., 2013).

Lueken, U., Straube, B., Konrad, C., Wittchen, H.-U., Ströhle, A., Wittmann, A., … Kircher, T. (2013). Neural Substrates of Treatment Response to Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy in Panic Disorder With Agoraphobia. American Journal of Psychiatry, 170(11), 1345–55. http://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2013.12111484

Straube, B., Green, A., Sass, K., & Kircher, T. (2014). Superior Temporal Sulcus Disconnectivity During Processing of Metaphoric Gestures in Schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 40(4), 936–944. http://doi.org/10.1093/schbul/sbt110

Straube, B., Wroblewski, A., Jansen, A., & He, Y. (2018). The connectivity signature of co-speech gesture integration: The superior temporal sulcus modulates connectivity between areas related to visual gesture and auditory speech processing. NeuroImage, 181(2018), 539–549. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.NEUROIMAGE.2018.07.037

Wroblewski, A., He, Y., & Straube, B. (accepted). Dynamic Causal Modelling suggests impaired effective connectivity in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders during gesture-speech integration. Schizophrenia Research IF: 4.569

Bitsch, F., Berger, P., Nagels, A., Falkenberg, I., & Straube, B. (2018). Impaired right temporo-parietal junction – hippocampus connectivity in schizophrenia and its relevance for representing other minds. Schizophrenia Bulletin