Neural mechanisms of prospection in individuals with schizotypal traits, autistic traits, or depressive symptoms.

Abstract

General Scientific Summary This study provided preliminary findings showing that individuals with autistic traits and individuals with schizotypal traits may exhibit subtle neural alterations during prospection albeit their intact behavioral performance on prospection. Altered neural responses in the anterior cingulate cortex and frontal gyrus in individuals with autistic traits may indicate that a subtle neural changes for imagining future scenarios and events, while the altered neural responses in caudate in individuals with schizotypal traits may indicate a compensated neural changes for processing positive emotions during prospection. Prospection refers to the ability to mentally construct future events, which is closely related to motivation and anhedonia. The neural underpinning of impaired prospection in psychiatric populations remains unclear. We recruited 34 individuals with autistic traits (AT), 27 individuals with schizotypal traits (ST), 31 individuals with depressive symptoms (DS), and 35 controls. Participants completed a prospection task while undergoing functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). We found that regions of the "default mode network" including the medial frontal gyrus, the posterior cingulate cortex, the precuneus and the parahippocampus were activated; and regions of the "task-positive network" including the inferior parietal lobe, the inferior frontal gyrus and the precentral gyrus were deactivated during prospection in controls. Compared with controls, AT, ST, and DS showed comparable behavioral performance on prospection. However, reduced activation in anterior cingulate cortex and frontal gyrus was found in AT individuals relative to controls during prospection. ST individuals showed hyperactivation in the caudate relative to controls when processing positive emotion, while DS individuals and controls showed similar neural responses during prospection.