Negative symptoms and resting state functional connectivity: Leveraging ecological momentary assessment and individual-specific techniques

There are indications that motivational deficits in psychotic and mood disorders are related to differences in functional connectivity. However, the literature is mixed, partly due to the limitations of traditional methods in accounting for individual variability. Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) and individual-specific techniques can account for such variability. By leveraging these methods, this study aims to elucidate transdiagnostic relationships between motivational deficits and resting-state functional connectivity. 144 participants (29 schizophrenia/schizoaffective; 38 bipolar, 37 major depressive, 40 controls) completed EMA on motivation and pleasure (MAP) and resting-state BOLD scans. Individual-specific network connectivity matrices were calculated with an empirically validated template-matching technique. Bayesian hierarchical regression models assessed relationships between anticipatory and consummatory MAP and within-network connectivity, participation coefficient, and number of vertices for eight networks (default mode, cingulo-opercular, dorsal attention, ventral attention, salience, fronto-parietal, dorsal somato-motor, ventral somato-motor). Analyses demonstrated intact MAP for bipolar and major depressive disorders, and elevated MAP for schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder. Moreover, MAP was positively related to within-network connectivity of the dorsal attention network, positively related to participation coefficient of the ventral attention network in schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder, negatively related to within-network connectivity of the salience network in schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder, and positively related to spatial extent of the salience network in controls. Overall, the findings highlight the role of attentional processes in MAP and suggest that underlying neural mechanisms vary by diagnosis. The results emphasize the complexity of MAP deficits and underscore the need for research to consider inter-individual variability to fully understand their phenomenology and neural basis.