Association of medial prefrontal resting state functional connectivity and metacognitive capacity in early phase psychosis

Metacognition refers to a range of cognitive processes that allow one to form complex ideas of self and others and to use this information to navigate psychosocial challenges. Several studies in both early-phase and prolonged schizophrenia have demonstrated not only that significant deficits in metacognitive ability are present, but importantly that they are associated with significant functional impairment and decreased quality of life. In spite of the importance of metacognitive impairment in schizophrenia, relatively little is known about the biological substrates that may contribute to this dysfunction. In this study, we examined the relationship between resting state functional connectivity of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), a structure shown in prior voxel-based morphometry studies to be associated with metacognition, with metacognitive function in an early phase psychosis cohort (n=18). Analyses revealed a positive association of resting state functional connectivity between the mPFC and precuneus and posterior cingulate structures and metacognitive ability. These results provide evidence of disrupted resting state connectivity in structures relevant to metacognitive dysfunction in early-phase psychosis, which may have implications for pathophysiological models of complex cognitive deficits in this illness.