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Anticevic A, Haut K, Murray JD, Repovs G, Yang GJ, Diehl C, McEwen SC, Bearden CE, Addington J, Goodyear B, Cadenhead KS, Mirzakhanian H, Cornblatt BA, Olvet D, Mathalon DH, McGlashan TH, Perkins DO, Belger A, Seidman LJ, Tsuang MT, van Erp TGM, Walker EF, Hamann S, Woods SW, Qiu M, Cannon TD. Association of Thalamic Dysconnectivity and Conversion to Psychosis in Youth and Young Adults at Elevated Clinical Risk. JAMA Psychiatry 2015; 72:882-91. [PMID: 26267151 PMCID: PMC4892891 DOI: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2015.0566] [Citation(s) in RCA: 255] [Impact Index Per Article: 28.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
IMPORTANCE Severe neuropsychiatric conditions, such as schizophrenia, affect distributed neural computations. One candidate system profoundly altered in chronic schizophrenia involves the thalamocortical networks. It is widely acknowledged that schizophrenia is a neurodevelopmental disorder that likely affects the brain before onset of clinical symptoms. However, no investigation has tested whether thalamocortical connectivity is altered in individuals at risk for psychosis or whether this pattern is more severe in individuals who later develop full-blown illness. OBJECTIVES To determine whether baseline thalamocortical connectivity differs between individuals at clinical high risk for psychosis and healthy controls, whether this pattern is more severe in those who later convert to full-blown illness, and whether magnitude of thalamocortical dysconnectivity is associated with baseline prodromal symptom severity. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In this multicenter, 2-year follow-up, case-control study, we examined 397 participants aged 12-35 years of age (243 individuals at clinical high risk of psychosis, of whom 21 converted to full-blown illness, and 154 healthy controls). The baseline scan dates were January 15, 2010, to April 30, 2012. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Whole-brain thalamic functional connectivity maps were generated using individuals' anatomically defined thalamic seeds, measured using resting-state functional connectivity magnetic resonance imaging. RESULTS Using baseline magnetic resonance images, we identified thalamocortical dysconnectivity in the 243 individuals at clinical high risk for psychosis, which was particularly pronounced in the 21 participants who converted to full-blown illness. The pattern involved widespread hypoconnectivity between the thalamus and prefrontal and cerebellar areas, which was more prominent in those who converted to full-blown illness (t(173) = 3.77, P < .001, Hedge g = 0.88). Conversely, there was marked thalamic hyperconnectivity with sensory motor areas, again most pronounced in those who converted to full-blown illness (t(173) = 2.85, P < .001, Hedge g = 0.66). Both patterns were significantly correlated with concurrent prodromal symptom severity (r = 0.27, P < 3.6 × 10(-8), Spearman ρ = 0.27, P < 4.75 × 10(-5), 2-tailed). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Thalamic dysconnectivity, resembling that seen in schizophrenia, was evident in individuals at clinical high risk for psychosis and more prominently in those who later converted to psychosis. Dysconnectivity correlated with symptom severity, supporting the idea that thalamic connectivity may have prognostic implications for risk of conversion to full-blown illness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alan Anticevic
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut2National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Center for the Translational Neuroscience of Alcoholism, New Haven, Connecticut3Abraham Ribicoff Research Facilities, C
| | - Kristen Haut
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - John D. Murray
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York
| | - Grega Repovs
- Department of Psychology, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Genevieve J. Yang
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut3Abraham Ribicoff Research Facilities, Connecticut Mental Health Center, New Haven5Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Caroline Diehl
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut4Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Sarah C. McEwen
- Departments of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences and Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles
| | - Carrie E. Bearden
- Departments of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences and Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles
| | - Jean Addington
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| | - Bradley Goodyear
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| | | | | | | | - Doreen Olvet
- Department of Psychiatry, Zucker Hillside Hospital, Glen Oaks, New York
| | | | - Thomas H. McGlashan
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Diana O. Perkins
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
| | - Aysenil Belger
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
| | - Larry J. Seidman
- Department of Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts15Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston16Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, and Massachusetts Mental Health Center Public Psychiatry Division, Beth Israel
| | - Ming T. Tsuang
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla
| | - Theo G. M. van Erp
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of California, Irvine
| | - Elaine F. Walker
- Departments of Psychology and Radiology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Stephan Hamann
- Departments of Psychology and Radiology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Scott W. Woods
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Maolin Qiu
- Department of Diagnostic Radiology and Magnetic Resonance Research Center, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Tyrone D. Cannon
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut4Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
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Hippocampal, amygdala and nucleus accumbens volume in first-episode schizophrenia patients and individuals at high familial risk: A cross-sectional comparison. Schizophr Res 2015; 165:45-51. [PMID: 25864953 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2015.03.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2014] [Revised: 03/21/2015] [Accepted: 03/22/2015] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
It is unknown whether brain changes occur prior to onset of schizophrenia or after it develops. Prospective familial high risk studies provide a good method to investigate this. In the Edinburgh High Risk Study, structural MRI scans of 150 young individuals at familial high risk of schizophrenia, 34 patients with first-episode schizophrenia and 36 matched controls were obtained. Of the high risk participants with scans suitable for analysis, 17 developed schizophrenia after the scans were taken, whilst 57 experienced isolated or sub-clinical psychotic symptoms, and 70 remained well. We used Freesurfer to extract volumetric measurements of the hippocampus, amygdala and nucleus accumbens with the aim of assessing whether any alterations found were present in all those at high risk, or selectively in the high risk cohort based on future clinical outcome, or only in those experiencing their first-episode of psychosis. We found no significant differences in any examined regions between controls and those at high risk, or between those at high risk who later developed schizophrenia and those who remained well. However, patients with first-episode schizophrenia demonstrated significant volumetric reductions in the bilateral hippocampus, left amygdala, and right nucleus accumbens compared to high risk individuals and healthy controls, which were not significantly associated with the intake of anti-psychotic medication or duration of illness. We found that patients had significantly smaller left amygdalae and bilateral hippocampus compared to HR[ill]. Our findings suggest that volumetric reductions of the hippocampus, amygdala and nucleus accumbens occur early in the first-episode of psychosis. The apparent absence of high risk versus control differences we found using Freesurfer is at odds with our previous studies conducted on the same sample, and possible methodological reasons for these apparent discrepancies are discussed.
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Malchow B, Hasan A, Meyer K, Schneider-Axmann T, Radenbach KE, Gruber O, Reith W, McIntosh AM, Schmitt A, Falkai P, Wobrock T. Family load impacts orbitofrontal volume in first-episode schizophrenia. Psychiatry Res 2015; 232:130-3. [PMID: 25800218 DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2015.02.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2014] [Revised: 11/24/2014] [Accepted: 02/18/2015] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
In schizophrenia, reduced orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) volume is inconsistently reported. To investigate the impact of genetic load on OFC volume, manual MRI-tracing in 23 first-episode schizophrenia patients (FE-SZ) and 23 controls was performed. FE-SZ with genetic load showed a decrease in OFC volume compared to FE-SZ without load and controls.
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Affiliation(s)
- Berend Malchow
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Nußbaumstraße 7, 80336 Munich, Germany.
| | - Alkomiet Hasan
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Nußbaumstraße 7, 80336 Munich, Germany
| | - Kristina Meyer
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Georg-August-University Goettingen, von-Siebold-Straße 5, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Thomas Schneider-Axmann
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Nußbaumstraße 7, 80336 Munich, Germany
| | - Katrin E Radenbach
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Georg-August-University Goettingen, von-Siebold-Straße 5, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Oliver Gruber
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Georg-August-University Goettingen, von-Siebold-Straße 5, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Reith
- Department of Neuroradiology, Saarland University Hospital, Kirrberger Straße, 66421 Homburg, Germany
| | - Andrew M McIntosh
- Division of Psychiatry, The University of Edinburgh, Royal Edinburgh Hospital, Edinburgh EH10 5HF, United Kingdom
| | - Andrea Schmitt
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Nußbaumstraße 7, 80336 Munich, Germany; Laboratory of Neuroscience (LIM27), Institute of Psychiatry, University of Sao Paulo, Rua Dr. Ovidio Pires de Campos 785, 05453-010 São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Peter Falkai
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Nußbaumstraße 7, 80336 Munich, Germany
| | - Thomas Wobrock
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Georg-August-University Goettingen, von-Siebold-Straße 5, 37075 Göttingen, Germany; Centre of Mental Health, County Hospitals Darmstadt-Dieburg, Krankenhausstraße 7, 64823 Groß-Umstadt, Germany
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54
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Early-course unmedicated schizophrenia patients exhibit elevated prefrontal connectivity associated with longitudinal change. J Neurosci 2015; 35:267-86. [PMID: 25568120 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.2310-14.2015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 126] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Strong evidence implicates prefrontal cortex (PFC) as a major source of functional impairment in severe mental illness such as schizophrenia. Numerous schizophrenia studies report deficits in PFC structure, activation, and functional connectivity in patients with chronic illness, suggesting that deficient PFC functional connectivity occurs in this disorder. However, the PFC functional connectivity patterns during illness onset and its longitudinal progression remain uncharacterized. Emerging evidence suggests that early-course schizophrenia involves increased PFC glutamate, which might elevate PFC functional connectivity. To test this hypothesis, we examined 129 non-medicated, human subjects diagnosed with early-course schizophrenia and 106 matched healthy human subjects using both whole-brain data-driven and hypothesis-driven PFC analyses of resting-state fMRI. We identified increased PFC connectivity in early-course patients, predictive of symptoms and diagnostic classification, but less evidence for "hypoconnectivity." At the whole-brain level, we observed "hyperconnectivity" around areas centered on the default system, with modest overlap with PFC-specific effects. The PFC hyperconnectivity normalized for a subset of the sample followed longitudinally (n = 25), which also predicted immediate symptom improvement. Biologically informed computational modeling implicates altered overall connection strength in schizophrenia. The initial hyperconnectivity, which may decrease longitudinally, could have prognostic and therapeutic implications.
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N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist effects on prefrontal cortical connectivity better model early than chronic schizophrenia. Biol Psychiatry 2015; 77:569-80. [PMID: 25281999 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2014.07.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 118] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2014] [Revised: 07/15/2014] [Accepted: 07/17/2014] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Prefrontal cortex (PFC) function contributes to schizophrenia onset and progression. However, little is known about neural mechanisms behind PFC functional alterations along illness stages. Recent pharmacologic studies indicate that glutamate dysfunction may produce increased functional connectivity. However, pharmacologic models of schizophrenia overlook effects of illness progression on PFC function. This study compared N-methyl-D-aspartate glutamate receptor (NMDAR) antagonist effects in healthy volunteers with stages of schizophrenia with respect to PFC functional connectivity. METHODS First, we tested ketamine effects on PFC functional connectivity in healthy volunteers in a data-driven way (n = 19). Next, we compared healthy subjects (n = 96) with three clinical groups: individuals at high risk for schizophrenia (n = 21), people early in their course of schizophrenia (EC-SCZ) (n = 28), and patients with chronic illness (n = 20). Across independent analyses, we used data-driven global brain connectivity techniques restricted to PFC to identify functional dysconnectivity. RESULTS Results revealed robust PFC hyperconnectivity in healthy volunteers administered ketamine (Cohen's d = 1.46), resembling individuals at high risk for schizophrenia and EC-SCZ. Hyperconnectivity was not found in patients with chronic illness relative to EC-SCZ patients. Results provide the first evidence that ketamine effects on PFC functional connectivity resemble early course but not chronic schizophrenia. CONCLUSIONS Results suggest an illness phase-specific relevance of NMDAR antagonist administration for prefrontal dysconnectivity associated with schizophrenia. This finding has implications for the neurobiology of illness progression and for the widespread use of NMDAR antagonists in the development of therapeutics for schizophrenia.
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56
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Hains AB, Yabe Y, Arnsten AF. Chronic Stimulation of Alpha-2A-Adrenoceptors With Guanfacine Protects Rodent Prefrontal Cortex Dendritic Spines and Cognition From the Effects of Chronic Stress. Neurobiol Stress 2015; 2:1-9. [PMID: 25664335 PMCID: PMC4316374 DOI: 10.1016/j.ynstr.2015.01.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2014] [Revised: 12/18/2014] [Accepted: 01/07/2015] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The prefrontal cortex (PFC) provides top-down regulation of behavior, cognition, and emotion, including spatial working memory. However, these PFC abilities are greatly impaired by exposure to acute or chronic stress. Chronic stress exposure in rats induces atrophy of PFC dendrites and spines that correlates with working memory impairment. As similar PFC grey matter loss appears to occur in mental illness, the mechanisms underlying these changes need to be better understood. Acute stress exposure impairs PFC cognition by activating feedforward cAMP-calcium-K+ channel signaling, which weakens synaptic inputs and reduces PFC neuronal firing. Spine loss with chronic stress has been shown to involve calcium-protein kinase C signaling, but it is not known if inhibiting cAMP signaling would similarly prevent the atrophy induced by repeated stress. The current study examined whether inhibiting cAMP signaling through alpha-2A-adrenoceptor stimulation with chronic guanfacine treatment would protect PFC spines and working memory performance during chronic stress exposure. Guanfacine was selected due to 1) its established effects on cAMP signaling at post-synaptic alpha-2A receptors on spines in PFC, and 2) its increasing clinical use for the treatment of pediatric stress disorders. Daily guanfacine treatment compared to vehicle control was found to prevent dendritic spine loss in layer II/III pyramidal neurons of prelimbic PFC in rats exposed to chronic restraint stress. Guanfacine also protected working memory performance; cognitive performance correlated with dendritic spine density. These findings suggest that chronic guanfacine use may have clinical utility by protecting PFC gray matter from the detrimental effects of stress.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Amy F.T. Arnsten
- Department of Neurobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar St., New Haven, CT 06510, USA
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57
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Bois C, Whalley HC, McIntosh AM, Lawrie SM. Structural magnetic resonance imaging markers of susceptibility and transition to schizophrenia: a review of familial and clinical high risk population studies. J Psychopharmacol 2015; 29:144-54. [PMID: 25049260 DOI: 10.1177/0269881114541015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
There is a growing consensus that a symptomatology as complex and heterogeneous as schizophrenia is likely to be produced by widespread perturbations of brain structure, as opposed to isolated deficits in specific brain regions. Structural brain-imaging studies have shown that several features of the brain, such as grey matter, white matter integrity and the morphology of the cortex differ in individuals at high risk of the disorder compared to controls, but to a lesser extent than in patients, suggesting that structural abnormalities may form markers of vulnerability to the disorder. Research has had some success in delineating abnormalities specific to those individuals that transition to psychosis, compared to those at high risk that do not, suggesting that a general risk for the disorder can be distinguished from alterations specific to frank psychosis. In this paper, we review cross-sectional and longitudinal studies of individuals at familial or clinical high risk of the disorder. We conclude that the search for reliable markers of schizophrenia is likely to be enhanced by methods which amalgamate structural neuroimaging data into a coherent framework that takes into account the widespread distribution of brain alterations, and relates this to leading hypotheses of schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Bois
- Division of Psychiatry, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - H C Whalley
- Division of Psychiatry, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - A M McIntosh
- Division of Psychiatry, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - S M Lawrie
- Division of Psychiatry, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
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58
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Glahn DC, Williams JT, McKay DR, Knowles EE, Sprooten E, Mathias SR, Curran JE, Kent JW, Carless MA, Göring HHH, Dyer TD, Woolsey MD, Winkler AM, Olvera RL, Kochunov P, Fox PT, Duggirala R, Almasy L, Blangero J. Discovering schizophrenia endophenotypes in randomly ascertained pedigrees. Biol Psychiatry 2015; 77:75-83. [PMID: 25168609 PMCID: PMC4261014 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2014.06.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2014] [Revised: 06/08/2014] [Accepted: 06/15/2014] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Although case-control approaches are beginning to disentangle schizophrenia's complex polygenic burden, other methods will likely be necessary to fully identify and characterize risk genes. Endophenotypes, traits genetically correlated with an illness, can help characterize the impact of risk genes by providing genetically relevant traits that are more tractable than the behavioral symptoms that classify mental illness. Here, we present an analytic approach for discovering and empirically validating endophenotypes in extended pedigrees with very few affected individuals. Our approach indexes each family member's risk as a function of shared genetic kinship with an affected individual, often referred to as the coefficient of relatedness. To demonstrate the utility of this approach, we search for neurocognitive and neuroanatomic endophenotypes for schizophrenia in large unselected multigenerational pedigrees. METHODS A fixed-effects test within the variance component framework was performed on neurocognitive and cortical surface area traits in 1606 Mexican-American individuals from large, randomly ascertained extended pedigrees who participated in the Genetics of Brain Structure and Function study. As affecteds were excluded from analyses, results were not influenced by disease state or medication usage. RESULTS Despite having sampled just 6 individuals with schizophrenia, our sample provided 233 individuals at various levels of genetic risk for the disorder. We identified three neurocognitive measures (digit-symbol substitution, facial memory, and emotion recognition) and six medial temporal and prefrontal cortical surfaces associated with liability for schizophrenia. CONCLUSIONS With our novel analytic approach, one can discover and rank endophenotypes for schizophrenia, or any heritable disease, in randomly ascertained pedigrees.
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Affiliation(s)
- David C Glahn
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven; Olin Neuropsychiatry Research Center, Institute of Living, Hartford Hospital, Hartford, Connecticut.
| | - Jeff T Williams
- Department of Genetics, Texas Biomedical Research Institute, San Antonio, Texas
| | - D Reese McKay
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven; Olin Neuropsychiatry Research Center, Institute of Living, Hartford Hospital, Hartford, Connecticut
| | - Emma E Knowles
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven; Olin Neuropsychiatry Research Center, Institute of Living, Hartford Hospital, Hartford, Connecticut
| | - Emma Sprooten
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven; Olin Neuropsychiatry Research Center, Institute of Living, Hartford Hospital, Hartford, Connecticut
| | - Samuel R Mathias
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven; Olin Neuropsychiatry Research Center, Institute of Living, Hartford Hospital, Hartford, Connecticut
| | - Joanne E Curran
- Department of Genetics, Texas Biomedical Research Institute, San Antonio, Texas
| | - Jack W Kent
- Department of Genetics, Texas Biomedical Research Institute, San Antonio, Texas
| | - Melanie A Carless
- Department of Genetics, Texas Biomedical Research Institute, San Antonio, Texas
| | - Harald H H Göring
- Department of Genetics, Texas Biomedical Research Institute, San Antonio, Texas
| | - Thomas D Dyer
- Department of Genetics, Texas Biomedical Research Institute, San Antonio, Texas
| | - Mary D Woolsey
- Research Imaging Institute, University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas
| | - Anderson M Winkler
- Centre for Functional MRI of the Brain, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Rene L Olvera
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas
| | - Peter Kochunov
- Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Peter T Fox
- Research Imaging Institute, University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas; State Key Laboratory for Brain and Cognitive Sciences, University of Hong Kong
| | - Ravi Duggirala
- Department of Genetics, Texas Biomedical Research Institute, San Antonio, Texas
| | - Laura Almasy
- Department of Genetics, Texas Biomedical Research Institute, San Antonio, Texas
| | - John Blangero
- Department of Genetics, Texas Biomedical Research Institute, San Antonio, Texas
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Lincoln SH, Hooker CI. Neural structure and social dysfunction in individuals at clinical high risk for psychosis. Psychiatry Res 2014; 224:152-8. [PMID: 25443177 DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2014.08.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2013] [Revised: 05/24/2014] [Accepted: 08/07/2014] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Individuals at a clinical high risk (CHR) for psychosis have gray matter volume (GMV) abnormalities that are similar to, though less severe than, those in individuals with schizophrenia. Less GMV in schizophrenia is related to worse social cognition and social functioning, but the relationship between GMV and social functioning in CHR individuals has yet to be investigated. The aim of this study was to (1) investigate differences in GMV between healthy controls (HC) and CHR individuals, and (2) evaluate the relationship between GMV and social functioning in these two groups. Participants comprised 22 CHR and 21 HC individuals who completed a structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan as well as self-reported and interviewer-rated measures of social functioning. Processing and analysis of structural images were completed using voxel based morphometry (VBM). Results showed that the CHR group had less GMV in the left postcentral gyrus, bilateral parahippocampual gyri, and left anterior cingulate cortex. Reduced GMV in the postcentral gyrus and the anterior cingulate was related to self-reported social impairment across the whole group. This study has implications for the neurobiological basis of social dysfunction present before the onset of psychosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Hope Lincoln
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, William James Hall 1008, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
| | - Christine I'Lee Hooker
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, William James Hall 1008, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
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Shen KK, Rose S, Fripp J, McMahon KL, de Zubicaray GI, Martin NG, Thompson PM, Wright MJ, Salvado O. Investigating brain connectivity heritability in a twin study using diffusion imaging data. Neuroimage 2014; 100:628-41. [PMID: 24973604 PMCID: PMC4291188 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2014.06.041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2014] [Revised: 06/04/2014] [Accepted: 06/18/2014] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Heritability of brain anatomical connectivity has been studied with diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) mainly by modeling each voxel's diffusion pattern as a tensor (e.g., to compute fractional anisotropy), but this method cannot accurately represent the many crossing connections present in the brain. We hypothesized that different brain networks (i.e., their component fibers) might have different heritability and we investigated brain connectivity using High Angular Resolution Diffusion Imaging (HARDI) in a cohort of twins comprising 328 subjects that included 70 pairs of monozygotic and 91 pairs of dizygotic twins. Water diffusion was modeled in each voxel with a Fiber Orientation Distribution (FOD) function to study heritability for multiple fiber orientations in each voxel. Precision was estimated in a test-retest experiment on a sub-cohort of 39 subjects. This was taken into account when computing heritability of FOD peaks using an ACE model on the monozygotic and dizygotic twins. Our results confirmed the overall heritability of the major white matter tracts but also identified differences in heritability between connectivity networks. Inter-hemispheric connections tended to be more heritable than intra-hemispheric and cortico-spinal connections. The highly heritable tracts were found to connect particular cortical regions, such as medial frontal cortices, postcentral, paracentral gyri, and the right hippocampus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kai-Kai Shen
- CSIRO Computational Informatics, Herston, QLD 4029, Australia
| | - Stephen Rose
- CSIRO Computational Informatics, Herston, QLD 4029, Australia
| | - Jurgen Fripp
- CSIRO Computational Informatics, Herston, QLD 4029, Australia
| | - Katie L McMahon
- Centre for Advanced Imaging, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
| | | | | | - Paul M Thompson
- Imaging Genetics Center, Institute for Neuroimaging & Informatics, University of South California, Marina del Rey, CA, USA
| | | | - Olivier Salvado
- CSIRO Computational Informatics, Herston, QLD 4029, Australia
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Grey-matter texture abnormalities and reduced hippocampal volume are distinguishing features of schizophrenia. Psychiatry Res 2014; 223:179-86. [PMID: 25028155 DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2014.05.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2013] [Revised: 05/06/2014] [Accepted: 05/25/2014] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Neurodevelopmental processes are widely believed to underlie schizophrenia. Analysis of brain texture from conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can detect disturbance in brain cytoarchitecture. We tested the hypothesis that patients with schizophrenia manifest quantitative differences in brain texture that, alongside discrete volumetric changes, may serve as an endophenotypic biomarker. Texture analysis (TA) of grey matter distribution and voxel-based morphometry (VBM) of regional brain volumes were applied to MRI scans of 27 patients with schizophrenia and 24 controls. Texture parameters (uniformity and entropy) were also used as covariates in VBM analyses to test for correspondence with regional brain volume. Linear discriminant analysis tested if texture and volumetric data predicted diagnostic group membership (schizophrenia or control). We found that uniformity and entropy of grey matter differed significantly between individuals with schizophrenia and controls at the fine spatial scale (filter width below 2mm). Within the schizophrenia group, these texture parameters correlated with volumes of the left hippocampus, right amygdala and cerebellum. The best predictor of diagnostic group membership was the combination of fine texture heterogeneity and left hippocampal size. This study highlights the presence of distributed grey-matter abnormalities in schizophrenia, and their relation to focal structural abnormality of the hippocampus. The conjunction of these features has potential as a neuroimaging endophenotype of schizophrenia.
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Nanda P, Tandon N, Mathew IT, Giakoumatos CI, Abhishekh HA, Clementz B, Pearlson G, Sweeney J, Tamminga C, Keshavan MS. Local gyrification index in probands with psychotic disorders and their first-degree relatives. Biol Psychiatry 2014; 76:447-55. [PMID: 24369266 PMCID: PMC4032376 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2013.11.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2013] [Revised: 11/12/2013] [Accepted: 11/14/2013] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Psychotic disorders are characterized by aberrant neural connectivity. Alterations in gyrification, the pattern and degree of cortical folding, may be related to the early development of connectivity. Past gyrification studies have relatively small sample sizes, yield mixed results for schizophrenia, and are scant for psychotic bipolar and schizoaffective (SZA) disorders and for relatives of these conditions. Here, we examine gyrification in psychotic disorder patients and their first-degree relatives as a possible endophenotype. METHODS Regional local gyrification index (LGI) values, as measured by FreeSurfer software, were compared between 243 control subjects, 388 psychotic disorder probands, and 300 of their first-degree relatives. For patients, LGI values were examined grouped across psychotic diagnoses and then separately for schizophrenia, SZA, and bipolar disorder. Familiality (heritability) values and correlations with clinical measures were also calculated for regional LGI values. RESULTS Probands exhibited significant hypogyria compared with control subjects in three brain regions and relatives with Axis II cluster A disorders showed nearly significant hypogyria in these same regions. Local gyrification index values in these locations were significantly heritable and uncorrelated with any clinical measure. Observations of significant hypogyria were most widespread in SZA. CONCLUSIONS Psychotic disorders appear to be characterized by significant regionally localized hypogyria, particularly in cingulate cortex. This abnormality may be a structural endophenotype marking risk for psychotic illness and it may help elucidate etiological underpinnings of psychotic disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pranav Nanda
- Department of Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons, New York, NY
| | - Neeraj Tandon
- Department of Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, Baylor College ofMedicine, Houston, TX
| | - Ian T Mathew
- Department of Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA
| | | | | | - Brett Clementz
- Department of Psychology, BioImaging Research Center, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, Department of Neuroscience, BioImaging Research Center, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia
| | - Godfrey Pearlson
- Olin Neuropsychiatry Research Center, Institute ofLiving, Hartford, Connecticut, Departments of Psychiatry and Neurobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - John Sweeney
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas
| | - Carol Tamminga
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas
| | - Matcheri S Keshavan
- Department of Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts; Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
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Polajnar M, Zerovnik E. Impaired autophagy: a link between neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric diseases. J Cell Mol Med 2014; 18:1705-11. [PMID: 25139375 PMCID: PMC4196646 DOI: 10.1111/jcmm.12349] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2014] [Accepted: 05/16/2014] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Protein misfolding, and subsequent aggregation have been proven as the leading cause of most known dementias. Many of these, in addition to neurodegeneration, show profound changes in behaviour and thinking, thus, psychiatric symptoms. On the basis of the observation that progressive myoclonic epilepsies and neurodegenerative diseases share some common features of neurodegeneration, we proposed autophagy as a possible common impairment in these diseases. Here, we argue along similar lines for some neuropsychiatric conditions, among them depression and schizophrenia. We propose that existing and new therapies for these seemingly different diseases could be augmented with drugs used for neurodegenerative or neuropsychiatric diseases, respectively, among them some which modulate or augment autophagy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mira Polajnar
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular and Structural Biology, Jožef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia
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Chen J, Liu J, Calhoun VD, Arias-Vasquez A, Zwiers MP, Gupta CN, Franke B, Turner JA. Exploration of scanning effects in multi-site structural MRI studies. J Neurosci Methods 2014; 230:37-50. [PMID: 24785589 DOI: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2014.04.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 84] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2014] [Revised: 04/15/2014] [Accepted: 04/17/2014] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Pooling of multi-site MRI data is often necessary when a large cohort is desired. However, different scanning platforms can introduce systematic differences which confound true effects of interest. One may reduce multi-site bias by calibrating pivotal scanning parameters, or include them as covariates to improve the data integrity. NEW METHOD In the present study we use a source-based morphometry (SBM) model to explore scanning effects in multi-site sMRI studies and develop a data-driven correction. Specifically, independent components are extracted from the data and investigated for associations with scanning parameters to assess the influence. The identified scanning-related components can be eliminated from the original data for correction. RESULTS A small set of SBM components captured most of the variance associated with the scanning differences. In a dataset of 1460 healthy subjects, pronounced and independent scanning effects were observed in brainstem and thalamus, associated with magnetic field strength-inversion time and RF-receiving coil. A second study with 110 schizophrenia patients and 124 healthy controls demonstrated that scanning effects can be effectively corrected with the SBM approach. COMPARISON WITH EXISTING METHOD(S) Both SBM and GLM correction appeared to effectively eliminate the scanning effects. Meanwhile, the SBM-corrected data yielded a more significant patient versus control group difference and less questionable findings. CONCLUSIONS It is important to calibrate scanning settings and completely examine individual parameters for the control of confounding effects in multi-site sMRI studies. Both GLM and SBM correction can reduce scanning effects, though SBM's data-driven nature provides additional flexibility and is better able to handle collinear effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiayu Chen
- The Mind Research Network, Albuquerque, NM, USA.
| | - Jingyu Liu
- The Mind Research Network, Albuquerque, NM, USA; Department of ECE, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA
| | - Vince D Calhoun
- The Mind Research Network, Albuquerque, NM, USA; Department of ECE, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA
| | - Alejandro Arias-Vasquez
- Radboud University Medical Centre, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Departments of Human Genetics and Psychiatry, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Radboud University Medical Centre, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Marcel P Zwiers
- Radboud University Nijmegen, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | | | - Barbara Franke
- Radboud University Medical Centre, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Departments of Human Genetics and Psychiatry, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Jessica A Turner
- The Mind Research Network, Albuquerque, NM, USA; Psychology Department and Neuroscience Institute, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USA
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van Erp TG, Guella I, Vawter MP, Turner J, Brown GG, McCarthy G, Greve DN, Glover GH, Calhoun VD, Lim KO, Bustillo JR, Belger A, Ford JM, Mathalon DH, Diaz M, Preda A, Nguyen D, Macciardi F, Potkin SG. Schizophrenia miR-137 locus risk genotype is associated with dorsolateral prefrontal cortex hyperactivation. Biol Psychiatry 2014; 75:398-405. [PMID: 23910899 PMCID: PMC4428556 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2013.06.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2013] [Revised: 06/10/2013] [Accepted: 06/11/2013] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND miR-137 dysregulation has been implicated in the etiology of schizophrenia, but its functional role remains to be determined. METHODS Functional magnetic resonance imaging scans were acquired on 48 schizophrenia patients and 63 healthy volunteers (total sample size N = 111 subjects), with similar mean age and sex distribution, while subjects performed a Sternberg Item Response Paradigm with memory loads of one, three, and five numbers. Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) retrieval activation for the working memory load of three numbers, for which hyperactivation had been shown in schizophrenia patients compared with control subjects, was extracted. The genome-wide association study confirmed schizophrenia risk single nucleotide polymorphism rs1625579 (miR-137 locus) was genotyped (schizophrenia: GG n = 0, GT n = 9, TT n = 39; healthy volunteers: GG = 2, GT n = 15, and TT n = 46). Fisher's exact test examined the effect of diagnosis on rs1625579 allele frequency distribution (p = nonsignificant). Mixed model regression analyses examined the effects of diagnosis and genotype on working memory performance measures and DLPFC activation. RESULTS Patients showed significantly higher left DLPFC retrieval activation on working memory load 3, lower working memory performance, and longer response times compared with controls. There was no effect of genotype on working memory performance or response times in either group. However, individuals with the rs1625579 TT genotype had significantly higher left DLPFC activation than those with the GG/GT genotypes. CONCLUSIONS Our study suggests that the rs1625579 TT (miR-137 locus) schizophrenia risk genotype is associated with the schizophrenia risk phenotype DLPFC hyperactivation commonly considered a measure of brain inefficiency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Theo G.M. van Erp
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, 92617, United States
| | - Ilaria Guella
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, 92617, United States
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Functional Genomics Laboratory University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, 62617, United States
| | - Marquis P. Vawter
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Functional Genomics Laboratory University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, 62617, United States
| | - Jessica Turner
- Mind Research Network, Albuquerque, NM, 87106, United States
- Departments of Psychiatry & Neuroscience, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 87131, United States
| | - Gregory G. Brown
- VA San Diego Healthcare System and Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, CA, 92161, United States
| | - Gregory McCarthy
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06250, United States
| | - Douglas N. Greve
- Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02115
| | - Gary H. Glover
- Department of Radiology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
| | - Vince D. Calhoun
- Mind Research Network, Albuquerque, NM, 87106, United States
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM
| | - Kelvin O. Lim
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55454, United States
| | - Juan R. Bustillo
- Departments of Psychiatry & Neuroscience, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 87131, United States
| | - Aysenil Belger
- Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, United States
| | - Judith M. Ford
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, 94143, United States
| | - Daniel H. Mathalon
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, 94143, United States
| | - Michele Diaz
- Brain Imaging and Analysis Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, 27710, United States
| | - Adrian Preda
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, 92617, United States
| | - Dana Nguyen
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, 92617, United States
| | - Fabio Macciardi
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, 92617, United States
| | - Steven G. Potkin
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, 92617, United States
| | - FBIRN
- http://www.birncommunity.org
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Goghari VM, Macdonald AW, Sponheim SR. Relationship between prefrontal gray matter volumes and working memory performance in schizophrenia: a family study. Schizophr Res 2014; 153:113-21. [PMID: 24529364 PMCID: PMC4144341 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2014.01.032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2013] [Revised: 01/16/2014] [Accepted: 01/24/2014] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Diffuse structural abnormalities in the prefrontal cortex have been reported in both schizophrenia patients and their nonpsychotic biological relatives. Additionally, working memory difficulties have long been documented in schizophrenia patients and have been associated with the genetic liability for the disorder. The present analysis investigated the relationship between prefrontal regional gray matter volumes and two facets of working memory in schizophrenia using a family study. Structural neuroimaging scans provided measurements of rostral middle, superior, and inferior prefrontal cortical gray matter volumes. Participants also completed a spatial working memory task that measured both short-term maintenance and manipulation of material in memory. Both schizophrenia patients and relatives had reduced superior and inferior frontal gray matter volumes. Schizophrenia patients demonstrated a spatial working memory deficit compared to both controls and relatives, with no greater impairment when required to manipulate material. Smaller prefrontal volumes in schizophrenia patients were associated with worse working memory performance. These relationships were absent in the nonpsychotic relatives and controls. Despite normative behavioral performance, nonpsychotic relatives demonstrated abnormalities in brain structure similar to those found in schizophrenia patients. Manipulation abilities were not more impaired than maintenance in schizophrenia patients. Consistent with other neuroimaging research, our results suggest that direct measures of the underlying biology may be more sensitive to the effects of the genetic liability for schizophrenia than behavioral measures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vina M Goghari
- Clinical Neuroscience of Schizophrenia (CNS) Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada.
| | - Angus W Macdonald
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, N218 Elliott Hall, 75 East River Road, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA; Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota, 2450 Riverside Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55454, USA
| | - Scott R Sponheim
- Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Health Care System, 116B VAMC, One Veteran's Drive, Minneapolis, MN 55417, USA; Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota, 2450 Riverside Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55454, USA; Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, N218 Elliott Hall, 75 East River Road, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
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Schmitt A, Malchow B, Hasan A, Falkai P. The impact of environmental factors in severe psychiatric disorders. Front Neurosci 2014; 8:19. [PMID: 24574956 PMCID: PMC3920481 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2014.00019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 195] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2013] [Accepted: 01/23/2014] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
During the last decades, schizophrenia has been regarded as a developmental disorder. The neurodevelopmental hypothesis proposes schizophrenia to be related to genetic and environmental factors leading to abnormal brain development during the pre- or postnatal period. First disease symptoms appear in early adulthood during the synaptic pruning and myelination process. Meta-analyses of structural MRI studies revealing hippocampal volume deficits in first-episode patients and in the longitudinal disease course confirm this hypothesis. Apart from the influence of risk genes in severe psychiatric disorders, environmental factors may also impact brain development during the perinatal period. Several environmental factors such as antenatal maternal virus infections, obstetric complications entailing hypoxia as common factor or stress during neurodevelopment have been identified to play a role in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, possibly contributing to smaller hippocampal volumes. In major depression, psychosocial stress during the perinatal period or in adulthood is an important trigger. In animal studies, chronic stress or repeated administration of glucocorticoids have been shown to induce degeneration of glucocorticoid-sensitive hippocampal neurons and may contribute to the pathophysiology of affective disorders. Epigenetic mechanisms altering the chromatin structure such as histone acetylation and DNA methylation may mediate effects of environmental factors to transcriptional regulation of specific genes and be a prominent factor in gene-environmental interaction. In animal models, gene-environmental interaction should be investigated more intensely to unravel pathophysiological mechanisms. These findings may lead to new therapeutic strategies influencing epigenetic targets in severe psychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Schmitt
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, LMU Munich Munich, Germany ; Laboratory of Neuroscience (LIM27), Institute of Psychiatry, University of Sao Paulo São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Berend Malchow
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, LMU Munich Munich, Germany
| | - Alkomiet Hasan
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, LMU Munich Munich, Germany
| | - Peter Falkai
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, LMU Munich Munich, Germany
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Diwadkar VA, Bustamante A, Rai H, Uddin M. Epigenetics, stress, and their potential impact on brain network function: a focus on the schizophrenia diatheses. Front Psychiatry 2014; 5:71. [PMID: 25002852 PMCID: PMC4066368 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2014.00071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2014] [Accepted: 06/04/2014] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
The recent sociodevelopmental cognitive model of schizophrenia/psychosis is a highly influential and compelling compendium of research findings. Here, we present logical extensions to this model incorporating ideas drawn from epigenetic mediation of psychiatric disease, and the plausible effects of epigenetics on the emergence of brain network function and dysfunction in adolescence. We discuss how gene-environment interactions, effected by epigenetic mechanisms, might in particular mediate the stress response (itself heavily implicated in the emergence of schizophrenia). Next, we discuss the plausible relevance of this framework for adolescent genetic risk populations, a risk group characterized by vexing and difficult-to-explain heterogeneity. We then discuss how exploring relationships between epigenetics and brain network dysfunction (a strongly validated finding in risk populations) can enhance understanding of the relationship between stress, epigenetics, and functional neurobiology, and the relevance of this relationship for the eventual emergence of schizophrenia/psychosis. We suggest that these considerations can expand the impact of models such as the sociodevelopmental cognitive model, increasing their explanatory reach. Ultimately, integration of these lines of research may enhance efforts of early identification, intervention, and treatment in adolescents at-risk for schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vaibhav A Diwadkar
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine , Detroit, MI , USA
| | - Angela Bustamante
- Center for Molecular Medicine and Genetics, Wayne State University School of Medicine , Detroit, MI , USA
| | - Harinder Rai
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine , Detroit, MI , USA
| | - Monica Uddin
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine , Detroit, MI , USA ; Center for Molecular Medicine and Genetics, Wayne State University School of Medicine , Detroit, MI , USA
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Chen J, Calhoun VD, Pearlson GD, Perrone-Bizzozero N, Sui J, Turner JA, Bustillo JR, Ehrlich S, Sponheim SR, Cañive JM, Ho BC, Liu J. Guided exploration of genomic risk for gray matter abnormalities in schizophrenia using parallel independent component analysis with reference. Neuroimage 2013; 83:384-96. [PMID: 23727316 PMCID: PMC3797233 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2013.05.073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2013] [Revised: 05/06/2013] [Accepted: 05/11/2013] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
One application of imaging genomics is to explore genetic variants associated with brain structure and function, presenting a new means of mapping genetic influences on mental disorders. While there is growing interest in performing genome-wide searches for determinants, it remains challenging to identify genetic factors of small effect size, especially in limited sample sizes. In an attempt to address this issue, we propose to take advantage of a priori knowledge, specifically to extend parallel independent component analysis (pICA) to incorporate a reference (pICA-R), aiming to better reveal relationships between hidden factors of a particular attribute. The new approach was first evaluated on simulated data for its performance under different configurations of effect size and dimensionality. Then pICA-R was applied to a 300-participant (140 schizophrenia (SZ) patients versus 160 healthy controls) dataset consisting of structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI) and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data. Guided by a reference SNP set derived from ANK3, a gene implicated by the Psychiatric Genomic Consortium SZ study, pICA-R identified one pair of SNP and sMRI components with a significant loading correlation of 0.27 (p=1.64×10(-6)). The sMRI component showed a significant group difference in loading parameters between patients and controls (p=1.33×10(-15)), indicating SZ-related reduction in gray matter concentration in prefrontal and temporal regions. The linked SNP component also showed a group difference (p=0.04) and was predominantly contributed to by 1030 SNPs. The effect of these top contributing SNPs was verified using association test results of the Psychiatric Genomic Consortium SZ study, where the 1030 SNPs exhibited significant SZ enrichment compared to the whole genome. In addition, pathway analyses indicated the genetic component majorly relating to neurotransmitter and nervous system signaling pathways. Given the simulation and experiment results, pICA-R may prove a promising multivariate approach for use in imaging genomics to discover reliable genetic risk factors under a scenario of relatively high dimensionality and small effect size.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiayu Chen
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM USA 87131
- The Mind Research Network, Albuquerque, NM USA 87106
| | - Vince D. Calhoun
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM USA 87131
- The Mind Research Network, Albuquerque, NM USA 87106
- Department of Neurosciences, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM USA 87131
- Olin Neuropsychiatry Research Center, Institute of Living, Hartford, CT USA 06106
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurobiology, Yale University, New Haven, CT USA 06511
| | - Godfrey D. Pearlson
- Olin Neuropsychiatry Research Center, Institute of Living, Hartford, CT USA 06106
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurobiology, Yale University, New Haven, CT USA 06511
| | - Nora Perrone-Bizzozero
- Department of Neurosciences, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM USA 87131
| | - Jing Sui
- The Mind Research Network, Albuquerque, NM USA 87106
| | | | - Juan R Bustillo
- Department of Neurosciences, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM USA 87131
- Department of Psychiatry, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM USA 87131
| | - Stefan Ehrlich
- Massachusetts General Hospital/Massachusetts Institute of Technology/Harvard Medical School, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA USA 02129
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA USA 02114
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Dresden University of Technology, Dresden, Germany 01307
| | - Scott R. Sponheim
- Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Health Care System, One Veterans Drive, Minneapolis, MN USA 55417
- Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN USA 55454
| | - José M. Cañive
- Department of Psychiatry, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM USA 87131
- Psychiatry Research Program, New Mexico VA Health Care System, Albuquerque NM 87108
| | - Beng-Choon Ho
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA USA 52242
| | - Jingyu Liu
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM USA 87131
- The Mind Research Network, Albuquerque, NM USA 87106
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Sprooten E, Papmeyer M, Smyth AM, Vincenz D, Honold S, Conlon GA, Moorhead TWJ, Job D, Whalley HC, Hall J, McIntosh AM, Owens DCG, Johnstone EC, Lawrie SM. Cortical thickness in first-episode schizophrenia patients and individuals at high familial risk: a cross-sectional comparison. Schizophr Res 2013; 151:259-64. [PMID: 24120958 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2013.09.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2013] [Revised: 09/13/2013] [Accepted: 09/27/2013] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Schizophrenia is associated with cortical thickness reductions in the brain, but it is unclear whether these are present before illness onset, and to what extent they are driven by genetic factors. METHODS In the Edinburgh High Risk Study, structural MRI scans of 150 young individuals at high familial risk for schizophrenia, 34 patients with first-episode schizophrenia and 36 matched controls were acquired, and clinical information was collected for the following 10 years for the high-risk and control group. During this time, 17 high-risk individuals developed schizophrenia, on average 2.5 years after the scan, and 57 experienced isolated or sub-clinical psychotic symptoms. We applied surface-based analysis of the cerebral cortex to this cohort, and extracted cortical thickness in automatically parcellated regions. RESULTS Analysis of variance revealed widespread thinning of the cerebral cortex in first-episode patients, most pronounced in superior frontal, medial parietal, and lateral occipital regions (corrected p<10(-4)). In contrast, cortical thickness reductions were only found in high-risk individuals in the left middle temporal gyrus (corrected p<0.05). There were no significant differences between those at high risk who later developed schizophrenia and those who remained well. CONCLUSIONS These findings confirm cortical thickness reductions in schizophrenia patients. Increased familial risk for schizophrenia is associated with thinning in the left middle temporal lobe, irrespective of subsequent disease onset. The absence of widespread cortical thinning before disease onset implies that the cortical thinning is unlikely to simply reflect genetic liability to schizophrenia but is predominantly driven by disease-associated factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma Sprooten
- Division of Psychiatry, University of Edinburgh, Royal Edinburgh Hospital, Edinburgh, United Kingdom; Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA; Olin Neuropsychiatry Center, Institute of Living, Hartford Hospital, Hartford, CT, USA
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Ira E, Zanoni M, Ruggeri M, Dazzan P, Tosato S. COMT, neuropsychological function and brain structure in schizophrenia: a systematic review and neurobiological interpretation. J Psychiatry Neurosci 2013; 38:366-80. [PMID: 23527885 PMCID: PMC3819150 DOI: 10.1503/jpn.120178] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Endophenotypes in genetic psychiatry may increase our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying disease risk and its manifestations. We sought to investigate the link between neuropsychological impairments and brain structural abnormalities associated with the COMT Val(158)Met polymorphism in patients with schizophrenia to improve understanding of the pathophysiology of this disorder. METHODS We performed a systematic review using studies identified in PubMed and MEDLINE (from the date of the first available article to July 2012). Our review examined evidence of an association between the COMT Val(158)Met polymorphism and both neuropsychological performance and brain structure in patients with psychosis, in their relatives and in healthy individuals (step 1). The review also explored whether the neuropsychological tasks and brain structures identified in step 1 met the criteria for an endophenotype (step 2). Then we evaluated evidence that the neuropsychological endophenotypes identified in step 2 are associated with the brain structure endophenotypes identified in that step (step 3). Finally, we propose a neurobiological interpretation for this evidence. RESULTS A poorer performance on the n-back task and the Continuous Performance Test (CPT) and smaller temporal and frontal brain areas were associated with the COMT Val allele in patients with schizophrenia and their relatives and met most of the criteria for an endophenotype. It is possible that the COMT Val(158)Met polymorphism therefore contributes to the development of these neuropsychological and brain structural endophenotypes of schizophrenia, in which the prefrontal cortex may represent the neural substrate underlying both n-back and CPT performances. LIMITATIONS The association between a single genetic variant and an endophenotype does not necessarily imply a causal relationship between them. CONCLUSION This evidence and the proposed interpretation contribute to explain, at least in part, the biological substrate of 4 important endophenotypes that characterize schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisa Ira
- Correspondence to: E. Ira, Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Section of Psychiatry, University of Verona, Policlinico G.B. Rossi, P.le L.A. Scuro 10, 37134 Verona, Italy;
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Geoffroy PA, Etain B, Houenou J. Gene x environment interactions in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder: evidence from neuroimaging. Front Psychiatry 2013; 4:136. [PMID: 24133464 PMCID: PMC3796286 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2013.00136] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2013] [Accepted: 10/02/2013] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Schizophrenia (SZ) and Bipolar disorder (BD) are considered as severe multifactorial diseases, stemming from genetic and environmental influences. Growing evidence supports gene x environment (GxE) interactions in these disorders and neuroimaging studies can help us to understand how those factors mechanistically interact. No reviews synthesized the existing data of neuroimaging studies in these issues. METHODS We conduct a systematic review on the neuroimaging studies exploring GxE interactions relative to SZ or BD in PubMed. RESULTS First results of the influence of genetic and environmental risks on brain structures came from monozygotic twin pairs concordant and discordant for SZ or BD. Few structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI) studies have explored the GxE interactions. No other imaging methods were found. Two main GxE interactions on brain volumes have arisen. First, an interaction between genetic liability to SZ and obstetric complications on gray matter, cerebrospinal fluid, and hippocampal volumes. Second, cannabis use and genetic liability interaction effects on cortical thickness and white matter volumes. CONCLUSION Combining GxE interactions and neuroimaging domains is a promising approach. Genetic risk and environmental exposures such as cannabis or obstetrical complications seem to interact leading to specific neuroimaging cerebral alterations in SZ. They are suggestive of GxE interactions that confer phenotypic abnormalities in SZ and possibly BD. We need further, larger neuroimaging studies of GxE interactions for which we may propose a framework focusing on GxE interactions data already known to have a clinical effect such as infections, early stress, urbanicity, and substance abuse.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pierre Alexis Geoffroy
- U955, INSERM, Psychiatrie génétique , Créteil , France ; AP-HP, Hôpital H. Mondor - A. Chenevier, Pôle de Psychiatrie , Créteil , France ; Pôle de Psychiatrie, CHRU de Lille, Université Lille Nord de France , Lille , France ; Fondation FondaMental , Créteil , France
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73
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Goghari VM, Smith GN, Honer WG, Kopala LC, Thornton AE, Su W, Macewan GW, Lang DJ. Effects of eight weeks of atypical antipsychotic treatment on middle frontal thickness in drug-naïve first-episode psychosis patients. Schizophr Res 2013; 149:149-55. [PMID: 23830856 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2013.06.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2013] [Revised: 06/07/2013] [Accepted: 06/10/2013] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
Atypical antipsychotic medications generally maintain or increase gray matter amount and functioning. First-episode psychosis patients have lower gray matter volume in the middle frontal gyrus, as well as worse performance on spatial working memory tasks compared to controls. This study investigated the effects of short-term four- and eight-week atypical treatment on middle frontal thickness and spatial working memory in first-episode psychosis patients. Nineteen drug-naïve first-episode psychosis patients treated with risperidone or quetiapine and 26 controls completed structural magnetic resonance imaging, a spatial working memory task, and clinical assessment at three intervals (baseline, four weeks, and eight weeks; all patients and 23 controls completed all three assessments). Caudal and rostral middle frontal thicknesses were measured using the automated program Freesurfer. Positive, negative, and general symptoms of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) decreased significantly in patients, with most of the change occurring in the first four weeks of treatment. Patients demonstrated an increase in rostral middle frontal thickness over eight weeks of treatment compared to controls. There was a medium effect size relationship between reduction in negative symptoms at four and eight weeks, and a change in rostral middle frontal thickness over eight weeks. No changes were found in spatial working memory ability. Short-term atypical treatment with risperidone or quetiapine can increase prefrontal cortical thickness in psychosis. These findings are notable given the role of the rostral middle frontal region in cognition and the relationship between better cognitive functioning and better functional outcome in psychosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vina M Goghari
- Department of Psychology, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada.
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Anticevic A, Cole MW, Repovs G, Murray JD, Brumbaugh MS, Winkler AM, Savic A, Krystal JH, Pearlson GD, Glahn DC. Characterizing thalamo-cortical disturbances in schizophrenia and bipolar illness. Cereb Cortex 2013; 24:3116-30. [PMID: 23825317 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bht165] [Citation(s) in RCA: 352] [Impact Index Per Article: 32.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Schizophrenia is a devastating neuropsychiatric syndrome associated with distributed brain dysconnectivity that may involve large-scale thalamo-cortical systems. Incomplete characterization of thalamic connectivity in schizophrenia limits our understanding of its relationship to symptoms and to diagnoses with shared clinical presentation, such as bipolar illness, which may exist on a spectrum. Using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging, we characterized thalamic connectivity in 90 schizophrenia patients versus 90 matched controls via: (1) Subject-specific anatomically defined thalamic seeds; (2) anatomical and data-driven clustering to assay within-thalamus dysconnectivity; and (3) machine learning to classify diagnostic membership via thalamic connectivity for schizophrenia and for 47 bipolar patients and 47 matched controls. Schizophrenia analyses revealed functionally related disturbances: Thalamic over-connectivity with bilateral sensory-motor cortices, which predicted symptoms, but thalamic under-connectivity with prefrontal-striatal-cerebellar regions relative to controls, possibly reflective of sensory gating and top-down control disturbances. Clustering revealed that this dysconnectivity was prominent for thalamic nuclei densely connected with the prefrontal cortex. Classification and cross-diagnostic results suggest that thalamic dysconnectivity may be a neural marker for disturbances across diagnoses. Present findings, using one of the largest schizophrenia and bipolar neuroimaging samples to date, inform basic understanding of large-scale thalamo-cortical systems and provide vital clues about the complex nature of its disturbances in severe mental illness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alan Anticevic
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06511, USA NIAAA Center for the Translational Neuroscience of Alcoholism, New Haven, CT 06519, USA Abraham Ribicoff Research Facilities, Connecticut Mental Health Center, New Haven, CT 06519, USA
| | - Michael W Cole
- Department of Psychology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
| | - Grega Repovs
- Department of Psychology, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - John D Murray
- Department of Neurobiology, Department of Physics, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
| | - Margaret S Brumbaugh
- Olin Neuropsychiatry Research Center, Institute of Living, Hartford Hospital, CT 06106, USA
| | - Anderson M Winkler
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06511, USA Olin Neuropsychiatry Research Center, Institute of Living, Hartford Hospital, CT 06106, USA Oxford University, John Radcliffe Hospital, Headington, Oxford OX3 9DU, UK and
| | - Aleksandar Savic
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06511, USA Abraham Ribicoff Research Facilities, Connecticut Mental Health Center, New Haven, CT 06519, USA University Psychiatric Hospital Vrapce, University of Zagreb, Zagreb 10000, Croatia
| | - John H Krystal
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06511, USA NIAAA Center for the Translational Neuroscience of Alcoholism, New Haven, CT 06519, USA Abraham Ribicoff Research Facilities, Connecticut Mental Health Center, New Haven, CT 06519, USA
| | - Godfrey D Pearlson
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06511, USA Department of Neurobiology, Olin Neuropsychiatry Research Center, Institute of Living, Hartford Hospital, CT 06106, USA
| | - David C Glahn
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06511, USA Olin Neuropsychiatry Research Center, Institute of Living, Hartford Hospital, CT 06106, USA
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Moran ME, Hulshoff Pol H, Gogtay N. A family affair: brain abnormalities in siblings of patients with schizophrenia. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2013; 136:3215-26. [PMID: 23698280 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awt116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
Abstract
Schizophrenia is a severe mental disorder that has a strong genetic basis. Converging evidence suggests that schizophrenia is a progressive neurodevelopmental disorder, with earlier onset cases resulting in more profound brain abnormalities. Siblings of patients with schizophrenia provide an invaluable resource for differentiating between trait and state markers, thus highlighting possible endophenotypes for ongoing research. However, findings from sibling studies have not been systematically put together in a coherent story across the broader age span. We review here the cortical grey matter abnormalities in siblings of patients with schizophrenia from childhood to adulthood, by reviewing sibling studies from both childhood-onset schizophrenia, and the more common adult-onset schizophrenia. When reviewed together, studies suggest that siblings of patients with schizophrenia display significant brain abnormalities that highlight both similarities and differences between the adult and childhood populations, with shared developmental risk patterns, and segregating trajectories. Based on current research it appears that the cortical grey matter abnormalities in siblings are likely to be an age-dependent endophenotype, which normalize by the typical age of onset of schizophrenia unless there has been more genetic or symptom burdening. With increased genetic burdening (e.g. discordant twins of patients) the grey matter abnormalities in (twin) siblings are progressive in adulthood. This synthesis of the literature clarifies the importance of brain plasticity in the pathophysiology of the illness, indicating that probands may lack protective factors critical for healthy development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcel E Moran
- 1 Child Psychiatry Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, NIH, Bethesda Maryland, USA
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76
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Catts VS, Fung SJ, Long LE, Joshi D, Vercammen A, Allen KM, Fillman SG, Rothmond DA, Sinclair D, Tiwari Y, Tsai SY, Weickert TW, Shannon Weickert C. Rethinking schizophrenia in the context of normal neurodevelopment. Front Cell Neurosci 2013; 7:60. [PMID: 23720610 PMCID: PMC3654207 DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2013.00060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 144] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2013] [Accepted: 04/16/2013] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
The schizophrenia brain is differentiated from the normal brain by subtle changes, with significant overlap in measures between normal and disease states. For the past 25 years, schizophrenia has increasingly been considered a neurodevelopmental disorder. This frame of reference challenges biological researchers to consider how pathological changes identified in adult brain tissue can be accounted for by aberrant developmental processes occurring during fetal, childhood, or adolescent periods. To place schizophrenia neuropathology in a neurodevelopmental context requires solid, scrutinized evidence of changes occurring during normal development of the human brain, particularly in the cortex; however, too often data on normative developmental change are selectively referenced. This paper focuses on the development of the prefrontal cortex and charts major molecular, cellular, and behavioral events on a similar time line. We first consider the time at which human cognitive abilities such as selective attention, working memory, and inhibitory control mature, emphasizing that attainment of full adult potential is a process requiring decades. We review the timing of neurogenesis, neuronal migration, white matter changes (myelination), and synapse development. We consider how molecular changes in neurotransmitter signaling pathways are altered throughout life and how they may be concomitant with cellular and cognitive changes. We end with a consideration of how the response to drugs of abuse changes with age. We conclude that the concepts around the timing of cortical neuronal migration, interneuron maturation, and synaptic regression in humans may need revision and include greater emphasis on the protracted and dynamic changes occurring in adolescence. Updating our current understanding of post-natal neurodevelopment should aid researchers in interpreting gray matter changes and derailed neurodevelopmental processes that could underlie emergence of psychosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vibeke S. Catts
- Schizophrenia Research Laboratory, Schizophrenia Research InstituteSydney, NSW, Australia
- Neuroscience Research AustraliaSydney, NSW, Australia
- School of Psychiatry, University of New South WalesSydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Samantha J. Fung
- Schizophrenia Research Laboratory, Schizophrenia Research InstituteSydney, NSW, Australia
- Neuroscience Research AustraliaSydney, NSW, Australia
- School of Psychiatry, University of New South WalesSydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Leonora E. Long
- Schizophrenia Research Laboratory, Schizophrenia Research InstituteSydney, NSW, Australia
- Neuroscience Research AustraliaSydney, NSW, Australia
- School of Medical Sciences, University of New South WalesSydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Dipesh Joshi
- Schizophrenia Research Laboratory, Schizophrenia Research InstituteSydney, NSW, Australia
- Neuroscience Research AustraliaSydney, NSW, Australia
- School of Psychiatry, University of New South WalesSydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Ans Vercammen
- Schizophrenia Research Laboratory, Schizophrenia Research InstituteSydney, NSW, Australia
- Neuroscience Research AustraliaSydney, NSW, Australia
- School of Psychiatry, University of New South WalesSydney, NSW, Australia
- School of Psychology, Australian Catholic UniversitySydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Katherine M. Allen
- Schizophrenia Research Laboratory, Schizophrenia Research InstituteSydney, NSW, Australia
- Neuroscience Research AustraliaSydney, NSW, Australia
- School of Psychiatry, University of New South WalesSydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Stu G. Fillman
- Schizophrenia Research Laboratory, Schizophrenia Research InstituteSydney, NSW, Australia
- Neuroscience Research AustraliaSydney, NSW, Australia
- School of Psychiatry, University of New South WalesSydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Debora A. Rothmond
- Schizophrenia Research Laboratory, Schizophrenia Research InstituteSydney, NSW, Australia
- Neuroscience Research AustraliaSydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Duncan Sinclair
- Schizophrenia Research Laboratory, Schizophrenia Research InstituteSydney, NSW, Australia
- Neuroscience Research AustraliaSydney, NSW, Australia
- School of Psychiatry, University of New South WalesSydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Yash Tiwari
- Schizophrenia Research Laboratory, Schizophrenia Research InstituteSydney, NSW, Australia
- Neuroscience Research AustraliaSydney, NSW, Australia
- School of Medical Sciences, University of New South WalesSydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Shan-Yuan Tsai
- Schizophrenia Research Laboratory, Schizophrenia Research InstituteSydney, NSW, Australia
- Neuroscience Research AustraliaSydney, NSW, Australia
- School of Psychiatry, University of New South WalesSydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Thomas W. Weickert
- Schizophrenia Research Laboratory, Schizophrenia Research InstituteSydney, NSW, Australia
- Neuroscience Research AustraliaSydney, NSW, Australia
- School of Psychiatry, University of New South WalesSydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Cynthia Shannon Weickert
- Schizophrenia Research Laboratory, Schizophrenia Research InstituteSydney, NSW, Australia
- Neuroscience Research AustraliaSydney, NSW, Australia
- School of Psychiatry, University of New South WalesSydney, NSW, Australia
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Schreiner MJ, Lazaro MT, Jalbrzikowski M, Bearden CE. Converging levels of analysis on a genomic hotspot for psychosis: insights from 22q11.2 deletion syndrome. Neuropharmacology 2013; 68:157-73. [PMID: 23098994 PMCID: PMC3677073 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2012.09.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2012] [Revised: 09/04/2012] [Accepted: 09/17/2012] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
Schizophrenia is a devastating neurodevelopmental disorder that, despite extensive research, still poses a considerable challenge to attempts to unravel its heterogeneity, and the complex biochemical mechanisms by which it arises. While the majority of cases are of unknown etiology, accumulating evidence suggests that rare genetic mutations, such as 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome (22qDS), can play a significant role in predisposition to the illness. Up to 25% of individuals with 22qDS eventually develop schizophrenia; conversely, this deletion is estimated to account for 1-2% of schizophrenia cases overall. This locus of Chromosome 22q11.2 contains genes that encode for proteins and enzymes involved in regulating neurotransmission, neuronal development, myelination, microRNA processing, and post-translational protein modifications. As a consequence of the deletion, affected individuals exhibit cognitive dysfunction, structural and functional brain abnormalities, and neurodevelopmental anomalies that parallel many of the phenotypic characteristics of schizophrenia. As an illustration of the value of rare, highly penetrant genetic subtypes for elucidating pathological mechanisms of complex neuropsychiatric disorders, we provide here an overview of the cellular, network, and systems-level anomalies found in 22qDS, and review the intriguing evidence for this disorder's association with schizophrenia. This article is part of the Special Issue entitled 'Neurodevelopmental Disorders'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew J. Schreiner
- Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, University of California, Los Angeles, USA
| | - Maria T. Lazaro
- Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, University of California, Los Angeles, USA
| | | | - Carrie E. Bearden
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, USA
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Terwisscha van Scheltinga AF, Bakker SC, van Haren NE, Derks EM, Buizer-Voskamp JE, Boos HB, Cahn W, Hulshoff Pol HE, Ripke S, Ophoff RA, Kahn RS. Genetic schizophrenia risk variants jointly modulate total brain and white matter volume. Biol Psychiatry 2013; 73:525-31. [PMID: 23039932 PMCID: PMC3573254 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2012.08.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 92] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2012] [Revised: 07/17/2012] [Accepted: 08/10/2012] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Thousands of common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are weakly associated with schizophrenia. It is likely that subsets of disease-associated SNPs are associated with distinct heritable disease-associated phenotypes. Therefore, we examined the shared genetic susceptibility modulating schizophrenia and brain volume. METHODS Odds ratios for genome-wide SNP data were calculated in the sample collected by the Psychiatric Genome-wide Association Study Consortium (8690 schizophrenia patients and 11,831 control subjects, excluding subjects from the present study). These were used to calculate individual polygenic schizophrenia (risk) scores in an independent sample of 152 schizophrenia patients and 142 healthy control subjects with available structural magnetic resonance imaging scans. RESULTS In the entire group, the polygenic schizophrenia score was significantly associated with total brain volume (R2 = .048, p = 1.6 × 10(-4)) and white matter volume (R2 = .051, p = 8.6 × 10(-5)) equally in patients and control subjects. The number of (independent) SNPs that substantially influenced both disease risk and white matter (n = 2020) was much smaller than the entire set of SNPs that modulated disease status (n = 14,751). From the set of 2020 SNPs, a group of 186 SNPs showed most evidence for association with white matter volume and an explorative functional analysis showed that these SNPs were located in genes with neuronal functions. CONCLUSIONS These results indicate that a relatively small subset of schizophrenia genetic risk variants is related to the (normal) development of white matter. This, in turn, suggests that disruptions in white matter growth increase the susceptibility to develop schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- AF Terwisscha van Scheltinga
- Department of Psychiatry, Rudolf Magnus Institute of Neuroscience, University Medical Centre Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Steven C. Bakker
- Department of Psychiatry, Rudolf Magnus Institute of Neuroscience, University Medical Centre Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Neeltje E.M. van Haren
- Department of Psychiatry, Rudolf Magnus Institute of Neuroscience, University Medical Centre Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Eske M. Derks
- Department of Psychiatry, Academic Medical Centre, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Jacobine E. Buizer-Voskamp
- Department of Psychiatry, Rudolf Magnus Institute of Neuroscience, University Medical Centre Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Heleen B.M. Boos
- Department of Psychiatry, Rudolf Magnus Institute of Neuroscience, University Medical Centre Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Wiepke Cahn
- Department of Psychiatry, Rudolf Magnus Institute of Neuroscience, University Medical Centre Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - HE Hulshoff Pol
- Department of Psychiatry, Rudolf Magnus Institute of Neuroscience, University Medical Centre Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Stephan Ripke
- Center for Human Genetic Research, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, United States of America
| | | | - Roel A. Ophoff
- Department of Psychiatry, Rudolf Magnus Institute of Neuroscience, University Medical Centre Utrecht, the Netherlands
- Center for Neurobehavioral Genetics, University of California, Los Angeles, United States of America
| | - RS Kahn
- Department of Psychiatry, Rudolf Magnus Institute of Neuroscience, University Medical Centre Utrecht, the Netherlands
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Zhang Y, Yan H, Tian L, Wang F, Lu T, Wang L, Yan J, Liu Q, Kang L, Ruan Y, Zhang D, Yue W. Association of MTHFR C677T polymorphism with schizophrenia and its effect on episodic memory and gray matter density in patients. Behav Brain Res 2013; 243:146-52. [PMID: 23318463 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2012.12.061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2012] [Revised: 12/19/2012] [Accepted: 12/24/2012] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
Growing evidence suggests that the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) may play a role in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. Recent studies suggested that the MTHFR 677T, as a risk allele, has an impact on brain activation and memory function in schizophrenia patients. To confirm further the association between this functional polymorphism and schizophrenia, we detected genotypes of MTHFR C677T polymorphism in 1002 schizophrenic patients and 1036 controls of Chinese Han population, by using direct DNA sequencing method. To explore further effects of MTHFR C677T polymorphism on memory and brain function in schizophrenia, 33 schizophrenia patients and 29 healthy participants were selected from above samples to be assessed with MRI scanning and episodic memory (EM) examination. The case-control association study results showed that the MTHFR C677T was associated with schizophrenia (χ(2)=14.11, P=1.74 × 10(-4), OR=0.79; 95% CI=0.70-0.89). We also found that the MTHFR 677T allele had a load-dependent effect on EM in schizophrenic patients, but not in healthy control participants. Further analysis on gray matter density (GMD) revealed significant diagnostic effects in bilateral frontal cortices, bilateral insula, left medial temporal cortex and bilateral occipital cortices, effects of MTHFR genotype in the right insula, right inferior frontal gyrus, right rolandic opercula, right parahippocampal gyrus and right medial temporal pole, and effects of genotype-diagnosis interaction in the right temporal gyrus. Our findings suggested that the MTHFR 677T allele might have effect on risk of schizophrenia, memory impairment and GMD changes in patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanling Zhang
- Institute of Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing, 100191, China
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Schmitt A, Reich-Erkelenz D, Gebicke-Härter P, Falkai P. Estudos transcriptômicos no contexto da conectividade perturbada em esquizofrenia. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2012. [DOI: 10.1590/s0101-60832012005000001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Esquizofrenia é uma severa doença neurobiológica com fatores genéticos e ambientais desempenhando um papel na fisiopatologia. Diversas regiões cerebrais têm sido implicadas no processo da doença e estão conectadas em complexos circuitos neuronais. Nos níveis molecular e celular, a conectividade afetada entre essas regiões, envolvendo mielinização disfuncional dos axônios neuronais, bem como as alterações no nível sináptico e metabolismo energético levando a distúrbios na plasticidade sináptica, são os maiores achados em estudos post-mortem. Estudos de microarranjos investigando a expressão gênica contribuíram para os achados de alterações em vias complexas em regiões cerebrais relevantes na esquizofrenia. Além disso, estudos utilizando microdissecção e captura a laser permitiram a investigação da expressão gênica em grupos específicos de neurônios. Entretanto, deve ser mantido em mente que em estudos post-mortem, confusos efeitos de medicação, qualidade de RNAm, bem como capacidade de mecanismos regenerativos neuroplásticos do cérebro em indivíduos com história de vida de esquizofrenia, podem influenciar o complexo padrão de alterações no nível molecular. Apesar dessas limitações, estudos transcriptômicos livres de hipóteses em tecido cerebral de pacientes esquizofrênicos oferecem uma possibilidade única para aprender mais sobre os mecanismos subjacentes, levando a novas ópticas da fisiopatologia da doença.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Schmitt
- Universidade de Göttingen, Alemanha; Universidade Ludwig Maximilians, Alemanha; Universidade de São Paulo, Brasil
| | | | | | - Peter Falkai
- Universidade de Göttingen, Alemanha; Universidade Ludwig Maximilians, Alemanha
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Rapoport JL, Giedd JN, Gogtay N. Neurodevelopmental model of schizophrenia: update 2012. Mol Psychiatry 2012; 17:1228-38. [PMID: 22488257 PMCID: PMC3504171 DOI: 10.1038/mp.2012.23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 546] [Impact Index Per Article: 45.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2012] [Accepted: 02/13/2012] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
The neurodevelopmental model of schizophrenia, which posits that the illness is the end state of abnormal neurodevelopmental processes that started years before the illness onset, is widely accepted, and has long been dominant for childhood-onset neuropsychiatric disorders. This selective review updates our 2005 review of recent studies that have impacted, or have the greatest potential to modify or extend, the neurodevelopmental model of schizophrenia. Longitudinal whole-population studies support a dimensional, rather than categorical, concept of psychosis. New studies suggest that placental pathology could be a key measure in future prenatal high-risk studies. Both common and rare genetic variants have proved surprisingly diagnostically nonspecific, and copy number variants (CNVs) associated with schizophrenia are often also associated with autism, epilepsy and intellectual deficiency. Large post-mortem gene expression studies and prospective developmental multi-modal brain imaging studies are providing critical data for future clinical and high-risk developmental brain studies. Whether there can be greater molecular specificity for phenotypic characterization is a subject of current intense study and debate, as is the possibility of neuronal phenotyping using human pluripotent-inducible stem cells. Biological nonspecificity, such as in timing or nature of early brain development, carries the possibility of new targets for broad preventive treatments.
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Affiliation(s)
- J L Rapoport
- Child Psychiatry Branch, NIH, NIMH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
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Sui J, He H, Pearlson GD, Adali T, Kiehl KA, Yu Q, Clark VP, Castro E, White T, Mueller BA, Ho BC, Andreasen NC, Calhoun VD. Three-way (N-way) fusion of brain imaging data based on mCCA+jICA and its application to discriminating schizophrenia. Neuroimage 2012; 66:119-32. [PMID: 23108278 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2012.10.051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 90] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2012] [Revised: 09/29/2012] [Accepted: 10/13/2012] [Indexed: 10/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Multimodal fusion is an effective approach to better understand brain diseases. However, most such instances have been limited to pair-wise fusion; because there are often more than two imaging modalities available per subject, there is a need for approaches that can combine multiple datasets optimally. In this paper, we extended our previous two-way fusion model called "multimodal CCA+joint ICA", to three or N-way fusion, that enables robust identification of correspondence among N data types and allows one to investigate the important question of whether certain disease risk factors are shared or distinct across multiple modalities. We compared "mCCA+jICA" with its alternatives in a 3-way fusion simulation and verified its advantages in both decomposition accuracy and modal linkage detection. We also applied it to real functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)-Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) and structural MRI fusion to elucidate the abnormal architecture underlying schizophrenia (n=97) relative to healthy controls (n=116). Both modality-common and modality-unique abnormal regions were identified in schizophrenia. Specifically, the visual cortex in fMRI, the anterior thalamic radiation (ATR) and forceps minor in DTI, and the parietal lobule, cuneus and thalamus in sMRI were linked and discriminated between patients and controls. One fMRI component with regions of activity in motor cortex and superior temporal gyrus individually discriminated schizophrenia from controls. Finally, three components showed significant correlation with duration of illness (DOI), suggesting that lower gray matter volumes in parietal, frontal, and temporal lobes and cerebellum are associated with increased DOI, along with white matter disruption in ATR and cortico-spinal tracts. Findings suggest that the identified fractional anisotropy changes may relate to the corresponding functional/structural changes in the brain that are thought to play a role in the clinical expression of schizophrenia. The proposed "mCCA+jICA" method showed promise for elucidating the joint or coupled neuronal abnormalities underlying mental illnesses and improves our understanding of the disease process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jing Sui
- The Mind Research Network and Lovelace Biomedical and Environmental Research Institute, Albuquerque, NM 87106, USA.
| | - Hao He
- The Mind Research Network and Lovelace Biomedical and Environmental Research Institute, Albuquerque, NM 87106, USA; Dept. of ECE, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA
| | - Godfrey D Pearlson
- Olin Neuropsychiatry Research Center, Hartford, CT 06106, USA; Depts. of Psychiatry and Neurobiology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06519 USA
| | - Tülay Adali
- Dept. of CSEE, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD, 21250 USA
| | - Kent A Kiehl
- The Mind Research Network and Lovelace Biomedical and Environmental Research Institute, Albuquerque, NM 87106, USA; Dept. of Psychology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 87131 USA
| | - Qingbao Yu
- The Mind Research Network and Lovelace Biomedical and Environmental Research Institute, Albuquerque, NM 87106, USA
| | - Vince P Clark
- The Mind Research Network and Lovelace Biomedical and Environmental Research Institute, Albuquerque, NM 87106, USA; Dept. of Psychology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 87131 USA
| | - Eduardo Castro
- The Mind Research Network and Lovelace Biomedical and Environmental Research Institute, Albuquerque, NM 87106, USA; Dept. of ECE, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA
| | - Tonya White
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55454 USA; Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Erasmus University, 3000 CB Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Bryon A Mueller
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55454 USA
| | - Beng C Ho
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, 52242 USA
| | - Nancy C Andreasen
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, 52242 USA
| | - Vince D Calhoun
- The Mind Research Network and Lovelace Biomedical and Environmental Research Institute, Albuquerque, NM 87106, USA; Dept. of ECE, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA; Dept. of CSEE, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD, 21250 USA
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84
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Curley AA, Eggan SM, Lazarus MS, Huang ZJ, Volk DW, Lewis DA. Role of glutamic acid decarboxylase 67 in regulating cortical parvalbumin and GABA membrane transporter 1 expression: implications for schizophrenia. Neurobiol Dis 2012; 50:179-86. [PMID: 23103418 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2012.10.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2012] [Revised: 10/02/2012] [Accepted: 10/20/2012] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Markers of GABA neurotransmission are altered in multiple regions of the neocortex in individuals with schizophrenia. Lower levels of glutamic acid decarboxylase 67 (GAD67) mRNA and protein, which is responsible for most cortical GABA synthesis, are accompanied by lower levels of GABA membrane transporter 1 (GAT1) mRNA. These alterations are thought to be most prominent in the parvalbumin (PV)-containing subclass of interneurons, which also contain lower levels of PV mRNA. Since GAT1 and PV each reduce the availability of GABA at postsynaptic receptors, lower levels of GAT1 and PV mRNAs have been hypothesized to represent compensatory responses to an upstream reduction in cortical GABA synthesis in schizophrenia. However, such cause-and-effect hypotheses cannot be directly tested in a human illness. Consequently, we used two mouse models with reduced GAD67 expression specifically in PV neurons (PV(GAD67+/-)) or in all interneurons (GABA(GAD67+/-)) and quantified GAD67, GAT1 and PV mRNA levels using methods identical to those employed in studies of schizophrenia. Cortical levels of PV or GAT1 mRNAs were not altered in PV(GAD67+/-) mice during postnatal development or in adulthood. Furthermore, cellular analyses confirmed the predicted reduction in GAD67 mRNA, but failed to show a deficit in PV mRNA in these animals. Levels of PV and GAT1 mRNAs were also unaltered in GABA(GAD67+/-) mice. Thus, mouse lines with cortical reductions in GAD67 mRNA that match or exceed those present in schizophrenia, and that differ in the developmental timing and cell type-specificity of the GAD67 deficit, failed to provide proof-of-concept evidence that lower PV and GAT1 expression in schizophrenia are a consequence of lower GAD67 expression. Together, these findings suggest that the correlated decrements in cortical GAD67, PV and GAT1 mRNAs in schizophrenia may be a common consequence of some other upstream factor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Allison A Curley
- Department of Psychiatry, W1653 Biomedical Science Tower, 200 Lothrop St. University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.
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85
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Palaniyappan L, Balain V, Liddle PF. The neuroanatomy of psychotic diathesis: a meta-analytic review. J Psychiatr Res 2012; 46:1249-56. [PMID: 22790253 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2012.06.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2012] [Revised: 05/24/2012] [Accepted: 06/13/2012] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Several studies have found widespread structural changes affecting the grey matter at various stages of schizophrenia (the prodrome, first-episode, and the chronic stage). It is unclear which of these neuroanatomical changes are associated with a predisposition or vulnerability to develop schizophrenia rather than the appearance of the clinical features of the illness. METHODS 16 voxel-based morphometry (VBM) analyses involving 733 genetically high-risk relatives (HRR) of patients with schizophrenia, 563 healthy controls and 474 patients were meta-analysed using the Signed Differential Mapping (SDM) technique. Two meta-analyses were conducted, with one comparing HRR group with healthy controls and the other comparing HRR group with the patients. RESULTS A significant grey matter reduction in the lentiform nucleus, amygdala/parahippocampal gyrus and medial prefrontal cortex was seen in association with the genetic diathesis. Grey matter reduction in bilateral insula, inferior frontal gyrus, superior temporal gyrus and the anterior cingulate was seen in association with the disease expression. CONCLUSIONS The neuroanatomical changes associated with the genetic diathesis to develop schizophrenia appear to be different from those that contribute to the clinical expression of the illness. Grey matter abnormalities in multimodal brain regions that have a supervisory function are likely to be central to the expression of the clinical symptoms of schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lena Palaniyappan
- Division of Psychiatry, University of Nottingham, A Floor, South Block, Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham NG7 2UH, United Kingdom.
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86
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Owens SF, Picchioni MM, Ettinger U, McDonald C, Walshe M, Schmechtig A, Murray RM, Rijsdijk F, Toulopoulou T. Prefrontal deviations in function but not volume are putative endophenotypes for schizophrenia. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2012; 135:2231-44. [PMID: 22693145 DOI: 10.1093/brain/aws138] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
This study sought to systematically investigate whether prefrontal cortex grey matter volume reductions are valid endophenotypes for schizophrenia, specifically investigating their presence in unaffected relatives, heritability, genetic overlap with the disorder itself and finally to contrast their performance on these criteria with putative neuropsychological indices of prefrontal functioning. We used a combined twin and family design and examined four prefrontal cortical regions of interest. Superior and inferior regions were significantly smaller in patients. However, the volumes of these same regions were normal in unaffected relatives and therefore, we could confirm that such deficits were not due to familial effects. Volumes of the prefrontal and orbital cortices were, however, moderately heritable, but neither shared a genetic overlap with schizophrenia. Total prefrontal cortical volume reductions shared a significant unique environmental overlap with the disorder, suggesting that the reductions were not familial. In contrast, prefrontal (executive) functioning deficits were present in the unaffected relatives, were moderately heritable and shared a substantial genetic overlap with liability to schizophrenia. These results suggest that the well recognized prefrontal volume reductions are not related to the same familial influences that increase schizophrenia liability and instead may be attributable to illness related biological changes or indeed confounded by illness trajectory, chronicity, medication or substance abuse, or in fact a combination of some or all of them.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sheena F Owens
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Kings College, London, UK.
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87
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Glausier JR, Lewis DA. Dendritic spine pathology in schizophrenia. Neuroscience 2012; 251:90-107. [PMID: 22546337 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2012.04.044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 377] [Impact Index Per Article: 31.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2012] [Revised: 03/22/2012] [Accepted: 04/05/2012] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Schizophrenia is a neurodevelopmental disorder whose clinical features include impairments in perception, cognition and motivation. These impairments reflect alterations in neuronal circuitry within and across multiple brain regions that are due, at least in part, to deficits in dendritic spines, the site of most excitatory synaptic connections. Dendritic spine alterations have been identified in multiple brain regions in schizophrenia, but are best characterized in layer 3 of the neocortex, where pyramidal cell spine density is lower. These spine deficits appear to arise during development, and thus are likely the result of disturbances in the molecular mechanisms that underlie spine formation, pruning, and/or maintenance. Each of these mechanisms may provide insight into novel therapeutic targets for preventing or repairing the alterations in neural circuitry that mediate the debilitating symptoms of schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- J R Glausier
- Translational Neuroscience Program, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
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88
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Doan NT, van Rooden S, Versluis MJ, Webb AG, van der Grond J, van Buchem MA, Reiber JH, Milles J. Combined magnitude and phase-based segmentation of the cerebral cortex in 7T MR images of the elderly. J Magn Reson Imaging 2012; 36:99-109. [DOI: 10.1002/jmri.23623] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2011] [Accepted: 01/23/2012] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
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Borgwardt S, McGuire P, Fusar-Poli P. Gray matters!--mapping the transition to psychosis. Schizophr Res 2011; 133:63-7. [PMID: 21943556 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2011.08.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2011] [Revised: 08/28/2011] [Accepted: 08/28/2011] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Abstract
Despite many neuroimaging studies on schizophrenia showing brain abnormalities the exact time course of their occurrence is unknown. Studies of gray matter are a powerful tool in biological psychiatry and provide an unprecedented opportunity for brain structure investigations. Here we compared cross-sectional and longitudinal structural neuroimaging studies distinguishing high-risk subjects developing psychosis from those who did not. These investigations on gray matter volumes in the prodromal phase potentially identify core structural markers of impending psychoses and clarify dynamic changes underlying the transition. Subjects at high risk of psychosis show qualitatively similar albeit less severe gray matter abnormalities as patients with psychosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefan Borgwardt
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
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90
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Egerton A, Borgwardt SJ, Tognin S, Howes OD, McGuire P, Allen P. An overview of functional, structural and neurochemical imaging studies in individuals with a clinical high risk for psychosis. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2011. [DOI: 10.2217/npy.11.51] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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91
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Cerebellar development in childhood onset schizophrenia and non-psychotic siblings. Psychiatry Res 2011; 193:131-7. [PMID: 21803550 PMCID: PMC3430079 DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2011.02.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2010] [Revised: 12/21/2010] [Accepted: 02/23/2011] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
We explored regional and total volumetric cerebellar differences in probands and their unaffected full siblings relative to typically developing participants. Participants included 94 (51 males) patients diagnosed with childhood onset schizophrenia (COS), 80 related non-psychotic siblings (37 males) and 110 (64 males) typically developing participants scanned longitudinally. The sample mean age was 16.87(S.D.=4.7; range 6.5 to 29). We performed mixed model regressions to examine group differences in trajectory and volume. The COS group had smaller bilateral anterior lobes and anterior and total vermis volumes than controls. The COS group diverged from controls over time in total, left, right, and bilateral posterior inferior cerebellum. Siblings did not have any fixed volumetric differences relative to controls but differed from controls in developmental trajectories of total and right cerebellum, left inferior posterior, left superior posterior, and superior vermis. Results are consistent with previous COS findings and several reports of decreased cerebellar volume in adult onset schizophrenia. Sibling trajectories may represent a trait marker, although the effect size for volumetric differences in early adulthood may be small.
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92
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Interhemispheric hypoconnectivity in schizophrenia: fiber integrity and volume differences of the corpus callosum in patients and unaffected relatives. Neuroimage 2011; 59:926-34. [PMID: 21964509 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.07.088] [Citation(s) in RCA: 91] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2011] [Revised: 07/13/2011] [Accepted: 07/27/2011] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Changes in hemispheric asymmetry and inter-hemispheric connectivity have been reported in schizophrenia. However, the genetic contribution to these alterations is still unclear. In the current study, we applied an automatic segmentation method to structural MRI and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data and examined volume and fiber integrity of the corpus callosum (CC), the main interhemispheric fiber tract, in 16 chronic schizophrenia (SZ) patients, matched first degree relatives and controls. SZ patients and relatives had smaller CC volumes than controls, particularly in the posterior genu, isthmus and splenium. Fractional anisotropy (FA), an indicator of fiber integrity, was reduced in patients and relatives in the whole CC, the inferior genu, the superior genu and the isthmus. Correspondingly, the mean diffusivity (MD) values of the whole CC and the isthmus were higher in patients and their unaffected relatives, indicating decreased compactness and increased intercellular space. Relatives had intermediate values in the volumetric and fiber integrity measurements between patients and controls. Lower CC volume and fiber integrity in SZ patients were associated with more severe auditory hallucinations. These results support the connectivity hypothesis of SZ (Friston, 1998) and particularly highlight the altered interhemispheric connectivity, which appears to be a genetic feature of SZ risk.
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93
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94
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Karlsgodt KH, Bachman P, Winkler AM, Bearden CE, Glahn DC. Genetic influence on the working memory circuitry: behavior, structure, function and extensions to illness. Behav Brain Res 2011; 225:610-22. [PMID: 21878355 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2011.08.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2011] [Accepted: 08/07/2011] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Abstract
Working memory is a highly heritable complex cognitive trait that is critical for a number of higher-level functions. However, the neural substrates of this behavioral phenotype are intricate and it is unknown through what precise biological mechanism variation in working memory is transmitted. In this review we explore different functional and structural components of the working memory circuitry, and the degree to which each of them is contributed to by genetic factors. Specifically, we consider dopaminergic function, glutamatergic function, white matter integrity and gray matter structure all of which provide potential mechanisms for the inheritance of working memory deficits. In addition to discussing the overall heritability of these measures we also address specific genes that may play a role. Each of these heritable components has the potential to uniquely contribute to the working memory deficits observed in genetic disorders, including 22q deletion syndrome, fragile X syndrome, phenylketonuria (PKU), and schizophrenia. By observing the individual contributions of disruptions in different components of the working memory circuitry to behavioral performance, we highlight the concept that there may be many routes to a working memory deficit; even though the same cognitive measure may be a valid endophenotype across different disorders, the underlying cause of, and treatment for, the deficit may differ. This has implications for our understanding of the transmission of working memory deficits in both healthy and disordered populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katherine H Karlsgodt
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
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95
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Wang Q, Deng W, Huang C, Li M, Ma X, Wang Y, Jiang L, Lui S, Huang X, Chua SE, Cheung C, McAlonan GM, Sham PC, Murray RM, Collier DA, Gong Q, Li T. Abnormalities in connectivity of white-matter tracts in patients with familial and non-familial schizophrenia. Psychol Med 2011; 41:1691-1700. [PMID: 21205362 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291710002412] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Abnormalities in the connectivity of white-matter (WM) tracts in schizophrenia are supported by evidence from post-mortem investigations, functional and structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). The aims of this study were to explore the microstructural changes in first-episode schizophrenia in a Han Chinese population and to investigate whether a family history of psychiatric disorder is related to the severity of WM tract integrity abnormalities in these patients. METHOD T1-weighted MR and DT images were collected in 68 patients with first-episode schizophrenia [22 with a positive family history (PFH) and 46 with a negative family history (NFH)] and 100 healthy controls. Voxel-based analysis was performed and WM integrity was quantified by fractional anisotropy (FA). Cluster- and voxel-level analyses were performed by using two-sample t tests between patients and controls and/or using a full factorial model with one factor and three levels among the three sample groups (patients with PFH or NFH, and controls), as appropriate. RESULTS FA deficits were observed in the patient group, especially in the left temporal lobe and right corpus callosum. This effect was more severe in the non-familial schizophrenia than in the familial schizophrenia subgroup. CONCLUSIONS Overall, these findings support the hypothesis that loss of WM integrity may be an important pathophysiological feature of schizophrenia, with particular implications for brain dysmaturation in non-familial and familial schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Q Wang
- Psychiatric Laboratory and Department of Psychiatry, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
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Gogtay N, Vyas NS, Testa R, Wood SJ, Pantelis C. Age of onset of schizophrenia: perspectives from structural neuroimaging studies. Schizophr Bull 2011; 37:504-13. [PMID: 21505117 PMCID: PMC3080674 DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbr030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 208] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Many of the major neuropsychiatric illnesses, including schizophrenia, have a typical age of onset in late adolescence. Late adolescence may reflect a critical period in brain development making it particularly vulnerable for the onset of psychopathology. Neuroimaging studies that focus on this age range may provide unique insights into the onset and course of psychosis. In this review, we examine the evidence from 2 unique longitudinal cohorts that span the ages from early childhood through young adulthood; a study of childhood-onset schizophrenia where patients and siblings are followed from ages 6 through to their early twenties, and an ultra-high risk study where subjects (mean age of 19 years) are studied before and after the onset of psychosis. From the available evidence, we make an argument that subtle, regionally specific, and genetically influenced alterations during developmental age windows influence the course of psychosis and the resultant brain phenotype. The importance of examining trajectories of development and the need for future combined approaches, using multimodal imaging together with molecular studies is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nitin Gogtay
- Child Psychiatry Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, NIH, Bethesda, MD
| | - Nora S. Vyas
- Child Psychiatry Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, NIH, Bethesda, MD
| | - Renee Testa
- Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne and Melbourne Health, Victoria, Australia
| | - Stephen J. Wood
- Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne and Melbourne Health, Victoria, Australia
- School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - Christos Pantelis
- Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne and Melbourne Health, Victoria, Australia
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van Erp TGM, Thompson PM, Kieseppä T, Bearden CE, Marino AC, Hoftman GD, Haukka J, Partonen T, Huttunen M, Kaprio J, Lönnqvist J, Poutanen VP, Toga AW, Cannon TD. Hippocampal morphology in lithium and non-lithium-treated bipolar I disorder patients, non-bipolar co-twins, and control twins. Hum Brain Mapp 2011; 33:501-10. [PMID: 21455943 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.21239] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2009] [Revised: 11/16/2010] [Accepted: 11/17/2010] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Bipolar I disorder is a highly heritable psychiatric illness with undetermined predisposing genetic and environmental risk factors. We examined familial contributions to hippocampal morphology in bipolar disorder, using a population-based twin cohort design. METHODS We acquired high-resolution brain MRI scans from 18 adult patients with bipolar I disorder [BPI; mean age 45.6 ± 8.69 (SD); 10 lithium-treated], 14 non-bipolar co-twins, and 32 demographically matched healthy comparison twins. We used three-dimensional radial distance mapping techniques to visualize hippocampal shape differences between groups. RESULTS Lithium-treated BPI patients had significantly larger global hippocampal volume compared to both healthy controls (9%) and non-bipolar co-twins (12%), and trend-level larger volumes relative to non-lithium-treated BPI patients (8%). In contrast, hippocampal volumes in non-lithium-treated BPI patients did not differ from those of non-bipolar co-twins and control twins. 3D surface maps revealed thicker hippocampi in lithium-treated BPI probands compared with control twins across the entire anterior-to-posterior extent of the cornu ammonis (CA1 and 2) regions, and the anterior part of the subiculum. Unexpectedly, co-twins also showed significantly thicker hippocampi compared with control twins in regions that partially overlapped those showing effects in the lithium treated BPI probands. CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that regionally thickened hippocampi in bipolar I disorder may be partly due to familial factors and partly due to lithium-induced neurotrophy, neurogenesis, or neuroprotection. Unlike schizophrenia, hippocampal alterations in co-twins of bipolar I disorder probands are likely to manifest as subtle volume excess rather than deficit, perhaps indicating protective rather than risk effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Theo G M van Erp
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, UCI, Irvine, California 92617, USA.
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98
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Parietal lobes in schizophrenia: do they matter? SCHIZOPHRENIA RESEARCH AND TREATMENT 2011; 2011:581686. [PMID: 22937268 PMCID: PMC3420742 DOI: 10.1155/2011/581686] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2011] [Revised: 07/28/2011] [Accepted: 08/10/2011] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Objective. Despite observations that abnormal parietal lobe (PL) function is associated with psychotic-like experiences, our knowledge about the nature of PL involvement in schizophrenia is modest. The objective of this paper is to investigate the role of the PL in schizophrenia. Method. Medline databases were searched for English language publications using the following key words: parietal lobe, combined with schizophrenia, lesions, epilepsy, cognition, rare genetic disorders, MRI, fMRI, PET, and SPECT, respectively, followed by cross-checking of references. Results. Imaging studies in childhood onset schizophrenia suggest that grey matter abnormalities start in parietal and occipital lobes and proceed to frontal regions. Although, the findings are inconsistent, several studies with patients at risk to develop schizophrenia indicate early changes in the PL. Conclusions. We want to propose that in a proportion of individuals with emerging schizophrenia structural and functional alterations may start in the PL and progress to frontal regions.
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99
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Lesh TA, Niendam TA, Minzenberg MJ, Carter CS. Cognitive control deficits in schizophrenia: mechanisms and meaning. Neuropsychopharmacology 2011; 36:316-38. [PMID: 20844478 PMCID: PMC3052853 DOI: 10.1038/npp.2010.156] [Citation(s) in RCA: 358] [Impact Index Per Article: 27.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2010] [Revised: 08/11/2010] [Accepted: 08/11/2010] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Although schizophrenia is an illness that has been historically characterized by the presence of positive symptomatology, decades of research highlight the importance of cognitive deficits in this disorder. This review proposes that the theoretical model of cognitive control, which is based on contemporary cognitive neuroscience, provides a unifying theory for the cognitive and neural abnormalities underlying higher cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia. To support this model, we outline converging evidence from multiple modalities (eg, structural and functional neuroimaging, pharmacological data, and animal models) and samples (eg, clinical high risk, genetic high risk, first episode, and chronic subjects) to emphasize how dysfunction in cognitive control mechanisms supported by the prefrontal cortex contribute to the pathophysiology of higher cognitive deficits in schizophrenia. Our model provides a theoretical link between cellular abnormalities (eg, reductions in dentritic spines, interneuronal dysfunction), functional disturbances in local circuit function (eg, gamma abnormalities), altered inter-regional cortical connectivity, a range of higher cognitive deficits, and symptom presentation (eg, disorganization) in the disorder. Finally, we discuss recent advances in the neuropharmacology of cognition and how they can inform a targeted approach to the development of effective therapies for this disabling aspect of schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tyler A Lesh
- Department of Psychiatry, UC Davis Imaging Research Center, Davis School of Medicine, University of California, Sacramento, CA, USA
| | - Tara A Niendam
- Department of Psychiatry, UC Davis Imaging Research Center, Davis School of Medicine, University of California, Sacramento, CA, USA
| | - Michael J Minzenberg
- Department of Psychiatry, UC Davis Imaging Research Center, Davis School of Medicine, University of California, Sacramento, CA, USA
| | - Cameron S Carter
- Department of Psychiatry, UC Davis Imaging Research Center, Davis School of Medicine, University of California, Sacramento, CA, USA
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Hirvonen J, Hietala J. Dysfunctional brain networks and genetic risk for schizophrenia: specific neurotransmitter systems. CNS Neurosci Ther 2010; 17:89-96. [PMID: 21199447 DOI: 10.1111/j.1755-5949.2010.00223.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Multiple neurotransmitter circuits are disturbed in schizophrenia, and the dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia prevails as the hypothesis with most empirical support. On the other hand, schizophrenia is highly heritable with a pattern consistent with both common and rare allelic variants and gene × environment interaction. Advances in the field of neuroimaging have expanded our knowledge of intermediate phenotypes, the neurobiological processes that convey the risk from the genes to the complex phenotype. In this article, we review the recent and continuously accumulating evidence from in vivo imaging studies aiming at characterizing neurochemical intermediate phenotypes of schizophrenia. Dopaminergic alterations in schizophrenia are shared by individuals at genetic risk who do not express the illness, suggesting a "dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia vulnerability." This hypothesis has the potential to help us better understand the dopaminergic dysfunction in the context of the complex pathophysiological process leading to schizophrenia. In the future, neurotransmitter imaging studies should investigate the gene × environment interaction in schizophrenia, and try to identify neurobiological correlates of heightened sensitivity to environmental stressors (e.g., cannabis, childhood trauma, and other psychosocial stress) in genetically vulnerable individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jussi Hirvonen
- Department of Radiology, Turku University Hospital and University of Turku, Turku, Finland.
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