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Neurofeedback (NF) aptitude, which refers to an individual's ability to change brain activity through NF training, has been reported to vary significantly from person to person. The prediction of individual NF aptitudes is critical in clinical applications to screen patients suitable for NF treatment. In the present study, we extracted the resting-state functional brain connectivity (FC) markers of NF aptitude, independent of NF-targeting brain regions. We combined the data from fMRI-NF studies targeting four different brain regions at two independent sites (obtained from 59 healthy adults and six patients with major depressive disorder) to collect resting-state fMRI data associated with aptitude scores in subsequent fMRI-NF training. We then trained the multiple regression models to predict the individual NF aptitude scores from the resting-state fMRI data using a discovery dataset from one site and identified six resting-state FCs that predicted NF aptitude. Subsequently, the reproducibility of the prediction model was validated using independent test data from another site. The identified FC model revealed that the posterior cingulate cortex was the functional hub among the brain regions and formed predictive resting-state FCs, suggesting that NF aptitude may be involved in the attentional mode-orientation modulation system's characteristics in task-free resting-state brain activity.

Neurofeedback (NF) aptitude, which refers to an individual's ability to change brain activity through NF training, has been reported to vary significantly from person to person. The prediction of individual NF aptitudes is critical in clinical applications to screen patients suitable for NF treatment. In the present study, we extracted the resting-state functional brain connectivity (FC) markers of NF aptitude, independent of NF-targeting brain regions. We combined the data from fMRI-NF studies targeting four different brain regions at two independent sites (obtained from 59 healthy adults and six patients with major depressive disorder) to collect resting-state fMRI data associated with aptitude scores in subsequent fMRI-NF training. We then trained the multiple regression models to predict the individual NF aptitude scores from the resting-state fMRI data using a discovery dataset from one site and identified six resting-state FCs that predicted NF aptitude. Subsequently, the reproducibility of the prediction model was validated using independent test data from another site. The identified FC model revealed that the posterior cingulate cortex was the functional hub among the brain regions and formed predictive resting-state FCs, suggesting that NF aptitude may be involved in the attentional mode-orientation modulation system's characteristics in task-free resting-state brain activity.

Impaired social cognition in schizophrenia is considered as the core contributor in the poor psychosocial functioning of schizophrenic patients. In this study, in order to better understand the neurobiological processes underlying social dysfunction in schizophrenia, we investigated regional structural brain abnormalities and emotion-attribution abilities in these patients. Twenty schizophrenic patients and 20 group-matched healthy comparison participants underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and were examined for emotion-attribution abilities by using the Perception of Affect Task (PAT). Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) was applied to investigate regional brain structural alterations. Relative to the healthy participants, the schizophrenic patients exhibited reduced gray matter concentrations in the left superior temporal gyrus, the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC), right anterior cingulate gyrus, bilateral ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, and right insula. The schizophrenic patients performed poorly on emotion-attribution tasks. Importantly, poor performance on emotion attribution to protagonists in social situations was found to be associated with reductions in gray matter in the MPFC of the patient group. This preliminary result suggests that in schizophrenia, difficulties in understanding the emotional experiences of others are possible manifestations of structural abnormalities in the MPFC. This study provides the neurobiological correlates of social dysfunction in schizophrenia and links structural abnormalities with impaired social cognitive abilities.