Abstract
Background
Alterations in the brain’s reward system may underlie motivation and pleasure deficits
in schizophrenia. Neuro-oscillatory desynchronization in the alpha band is thought
to direct resource allocation away from the internal state, to prioritize processing
salient environmental events, including reward feedback. We hypothesize reduced reward-related
alpha event-related desynchronization (ERD) in schizophrenia, consistent with less
externally-focused processing during reward feedback.
Methods
EEG was recorded while individuals with schizophrenia (SZ; n=54) and healthy control
participants (HC; n= 54) played a simple slot machine task. Total alpha band power
(8-14 Hz), a measure of neural oscillation magnitude, was extracted via principal
components analysis and compared between groups and reward outcomes. The clinical
relevance of hypothesized alpha power alterations was examined by testing associations
with negative symptoms within the SZ group and with trait rumination, dimensionally,
across groups.
Results
A Group X Reward Outcome interaction (p=.018) was explained by HC showing significant
posterior-occipital alpha power suppression to wins versus losses (p<.001), in contrast
to SZ (p>.1). Among participants with SZ, this alpha ERD was unrelated to negative
symptoms (p>.1). Across all participants, less alpha ERD to reward outcomes covaried
with greater trait rumination, for both win (p=.005) and loss (p=.002) outcomes, with
no group differences in slope.
Conclusion
These findings demonstrate alpha ERD alterations in schizophrenia during reward outcome
processing. Additionally, higher trait rumination is associated with less alpha ERD
during reward feedback, suggesting that individual differences in rumination covary
with external attention to reward processing, regardless of reward outcome valence
or group membership.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
December 29,
2022
Received in revised form:
December 28,
2022
Received:
August 11,
2022
Publication stage
In Press Journal Pre-ProofIdentification
Copyright
© 2023 Published by Elsevier Inc on behalf of Society of Biological Psychiatry.
