Fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations of BOLD signal in schizophrenia

Over 1% of the world population suffer from schizophrenia, which is a mental and hereditary disorder. Diagnosis of this disorder is now based mainly on the clinical symptoms. As the first study in Iran, we used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique to study biomarkers of schizophrenia that are detectable in resting state functional MRI (fMRI). In this study, fractional Amplitude of Low-Frequency Fluctuations (fALFF) of BOLD signals, as the reflection of neuronal oscillation and synchrony of activation, were investigated in two groups of subjects including 12 schizophrenia patients and 12 healthy controls. The results showed abnormal increasing in fALFF of specific brain regions including parts of cerebellum, superior temporal gyrus, middle temporal gyrus and brainstem, and fALFF reduction in parts of frontal lobe, lingual gyrus and precuneus in schizophrenia subjects compared to the healthy control group (p-value<0.05). Also, fALFF reduction is observed in some parts of Default Mode Network (cingulate gyrus, anterior frontal lobe and superior frontal lobe). These results can help psychiatrists and neuroscientists to understand this disorder deeply and find appropriate treatments.