Increased regional homogeneity modulated by metacognitive training predicts therapeutic efficacy in patients with schizophrenia

Previous studies have demonstrated the efficacy of metacognitive training (MCT) in schizophrenia. However, the underlying mechanisms related to therapeutic effect of MCT remain unknown. The present study explored the treatment effects of MCT on brain regional neural activity using regional homogeneity (ReHo) and whether these regions’ activities could predict individual treatment response in schizophrenia. Forty-one patients with schizophrenia and 20 healthy controls were scanned using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. Patients were randomly divided into drug therapy (DT) and drug plus psychotherapy (DPP) groups. The DT group received only olanzapine treatment, whereas the DPP group received olanzapine and MCT for 8 weeks. The results revealed that ReHo in the right precuneus, left superior medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC), right parahippocampal gyrus and left rectus was significantly increased in the DPP group after 8 weeks of treatment. Patients in the DT group showed significantly increased ReHo in the left ventral MPFC/anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), left superior MPFC/middle frontal gyrus (MFG), left precuneus, right rectus and left MFG, and significantly decreased ReHo in the bilateral cerebellum VIII and left inferior occipital gyrus (IOG) after treatment. Support vector regression analyses showed that high ReHo levels at baseline in the right precuneus and left superior MPFC could predict symptomatic improvement of Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) after 8 weeks of DPP treatment. Moreover, high ReHo levels at baseline and alterations of ReHo in the left ventral MPFC/ACC could predict symptomatic improvement of PANSS after 8 weeks of DT treatment. This study suggests that MCT is associated with the modulation of ReHo in schizophrenia. ReHo in the right precuneus and left superior MPFC may predict individual therapeutic response for MCT in patients with schizophrenia. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1007/s00406-020-01119-w) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.