Neural basis of cognitive-perceptual and negative affect: the linking role of ventral anterior insula connectivity.

BACKGROUND

Schizotypal personality (SP) is characterized by cognitive-perceptual disturbances, interpersonal difficulties, and disorganized behavior. We examined associations between SP traits and affect, and insula-centered neural mechanisms underlying this link.

METHODS

One hundred sixty-one university students completed the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire-Brief and the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule and underwent resting-state fMRI. Seed-based whole-brain functional connectivity (FC) analyses used bilateral ventral anterior, dorsal anterior, and posterior insula seeds. Pearson correlations and mediation analyses tested associations among SP traits, negative affect, and FC.

RESULTS

Cognitive-perceptual traits correlated positively with negative affect (r = 0.36, p < 0.001). FC between the right inferior parietal lobule (IPL.R) and the left ventral anterior insula (vAI.L) was positively correlated with cognitive-perceptual traits (r = 0.33, p < 0.001), whereas FC between the right cerebellar Crus I and the vAI.L was negatively correlated (r = -0.37, p < 0.001). FC between the right ventral anterior insula (vAI.R) and the Left Calcarine Gyrus (CAL.L) was also negative (r = -0.30, p < 0.001). vAI.L-IPL.R FC partially mediated the cognitive-perceptual traits-negative affect association (indirect effect = 0.1883, 95% bootstrap CI [0.0246, 0.4022]).

CONCLUSION

vAI.L-IPL.R FC partially accounts for the link between cognitive-perceptual traits and negative affect, highlighting a potential neural pathway underlying affective vulnerability in SP.