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Doolub D, Vibert N, Botta F, Razmkon A, Bouquet C, Wassouf I, Millet B, Harika-Germaneau G, Jaafari N. Neurological soft signs as trait markers of a subset of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder with low insight and altered cognitive abilities. J Psychiatr Res 2024; 175:42-49. [PMID: 38704980 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2024.04.052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2022] [Revised: 09/04/2023] [Accepted: 04/25/2024] [Indexed: 05/07/2024]
Abstract
Neurological soft signs (NSS) are subtle motor control impairments that include involuntary movements and abnormalities of motor coordination, sensory integration and lateralization. They engage different brain networks, including the prefrontal networks that support the higher cognitive functions that are dysfunctional in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). This study investigated the relationships between the presence of NSS and patients' severity of OCD symptoms, insight, and treatment resistance in a sample of 63 patients. Treatment-resistance was assessed considering all the treatments the patients received during the course of their disease. The four dimensions of OCD defined in the dimensional obsessive-compulsive scale were considered. Links between the patients' cognitive abilities and NSS were assessed using tests targeting specifically the core components of executive functions. As expected, OCD patients displayed more NSS than individually matched control participants. In OCD patients, high NSS scores were associated with poor insight and lower cognitive abilities. Multiple regression analysis identified worse visuospatial working memory, attentional control, and verbal fluency as predictive factors of high NSS scores among cognitive functions. Unexpectedly, the patients displaying symptoms in the contamination/washing dimension displayed less NSS than the other patients. In contrast, neither the severity of OCD symptoms nor long-range treatment resistance was significantly related to patients' NSS scores. Altogether, our findings suggest that high NSS scores may be a trait marker of a subset of OCD patients with low insight and particularly altered cognitive abilities who would not express the contamination/washing dimension of the pathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Damien Doolub
- CNRS, Université de Poitiers, Université de Tours, CeRCA, Poitiers, France; Unité de Recherche Clinique Pierre Deniker du Centre Hospitalier Henri Laborit, Poitiers, France.
| | - Nicolas Vibert
- CNRS, Université de Poitiers, Université de Tours, CeRCA, Poitiers, France
| | - Fabiano Botta
- Unité de Recherche Clinique Pierre Deniker du Centre Hospitalier Henri Laborit, Poitiers, France
| | - Ali Razmkon
- Unité de Recherche Clinique Pierre Deniker du Centre Hospitalier Henri Laborit, Poitiers, France; Research Center for Neuromodulation and Pain, Shiraz, Iran
| | - Cédric Bouquet
- CNRS, Université de Poitiers, Université de Tours, CeRCA, Poitiers, France
| | - Issa Wassouf
- CNRS, Université de Poitiers, Université de Tours, CeRCA, Poitiers, France; Unité de Recherche Clinique Pierre Deniker du Centre Hospitalier Henri Laborit, Poitiers, France; Centre Hospitalier du Nord Deux-Sèvres, Service de Psychiatrie Adulte, Thouars, France
| | - Bruno Millet
- Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle, UMR 7225, CNRS, INSERM, Sorbonne Université et Département de Psychiatrie Adulte, Groupe Hospitalier Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France
| | - Ghina Harika-Germaneau
- CNRS, Université de Poitiers, Université de Tours, CeRCA, Poitiers, France; Unité de Recherche Clinique Pierre Deniker du Centre Hospitalier Henri Laborit, Poitiers, France
| | - Nematollah Jaafari
- CNRS, Université de Poitiers, Université de Tours, CeRCA, Poitiers, France; Unité de Recherche Clinique Pierre Deniker du Centre Hospitalier Henri Laborit, Poitiers, France
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2
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Wolf RC, Werler F, Schmitgen MM, Wolf ND, Wittemann M, Reith W, Hirjak D. Functional correlates of neurological soft signs in heavy cannabis users. Addict Biol 2023; 28:e13270. [PMID: 36825488 DOI: 10.1111/adb.13270] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2022] [Revised: 12/03/2022] [Accepted: 01/20/2023] [Indexed: 02/17/2023]
Abstract
Sensorimotor dysfunction has been previously reported in persons with cannabis dependence. Such individuals can exhibit increased levels of neurological soft signs (NSS), particularly involving motor coordination, sensorimotor integration and complex motor task performance. Abnormal NSS levels can also be detected in non-dependent individuals with heavy cannabis use (HCU), yet very little is known about the functional correlates underlying such deficits. Here, we used resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to investigate associations between NSS and intrinsic neural activity (INA) in HCU (n = 21) and controls (n = 26). Compared with controls, individuals with HCU showed significantly higher NSS across all investigated subdomains. Three of these subdomains, that is, motor coordination, sensorimotor integration and complex motor task behaviour, were associated with specific use-dependent variables, particularly age of onset of cannabis use and current cannabis use. Between-group comparisons of INA revealed lower regional homogeneity (ReHo) in left precentral gyrus, left inferior occipital gyrus, right triangular pat of the inferior frontal gyrus and right precentral gyrus in HCU compared with controls. In addition, HCU showed also higher ReHo in right cerebellum and left postcentral gyrus compared with controls. Complex motor task behaviour in HCU was significantly related to INA in postcentral, inferior frontal and occipital cortices. Our findings indicate abnormal ReHo in HCU in regions associated with sensorimotor, executive control and visuomotor-integration processes. Importantly, we show associations between ReHo, cannabis-use behaviour and execution of complex motor tasks. Given convergent findings in manifest psychotic disorders, this study suggests an HCU endophenotype that may present with a cumulative risk for psychosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert Christian Wolf
- Department of General Psychiatry at the Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Florian Werler
- Department of General Psychiatry at the Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Mike M Schmitgen
- Department of General Psychiatry at the Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Nadine D Wolf
- Department of General Psychiatry at the Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Miriam Wittemann
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Saarland University, Saarbrücken, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Reith
- Department of Neuroradiology, Saarland University, Saarbrücken, Germany
| | - Dusan Hirjak
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany
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3
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Kong L, Lui SSY, Wang Y, Hung KSY, Ho KKH, Wang Y, Huang J, Mak HKF, Sham PC, Cheung EFC, Chan RCK. Structural network alterations and their association with neurological soft signs in schizophrenia: Evidence from clinical patients and unaffected siblings. Schizophr Res 2022; 248:345-352. [PMID: 34872833 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2021.11.042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2021] [Revised: 09/24/2021] [Accepted: 11/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Grey matter abnormalities and neurological soft signs (NSS) have been found in schizophrenia patients and their unaffected relatives. Evidence suggested that NSS are associated with grey matter morphometrical alterations in multiple regions in schizophrenia. However, the association between NSS and structural abnormalities at network level remains largely unexplored, especially in the schizophrenia and unaffected siblings. METHOD We used source-based morphometry (SBM) to examine the association of structural brain network characteristics with NSS in 62 schizophrenia patients, 25 unaffected siblings, and 60 healthy controls. RESULTS Two components, namely the IC-5 (superior temporal gyrus, inferior frontal gyrus and insula network) and the IC-10 (parahippocampal gyrus, fusiform, thalamus and insula network) showed significant grey matter reductions in schizophrenia patients compared to healthy controls and unaffected siblings. Further association analysis demonstrated separate NSS-related grey matter covarying patterns in schizophrenia, unaffected siblings and healthy controls. Specifically, NSS were negatively associated with IC-1 (hippocampus, caudate and thalamus network) and IC-5 in schizophrenia, but with IC-3 (caudate, superior and middle frontal cortices network) in unaffected siblings and with IC-5 in healthy controls. CONCLUSION Our results confirmed the key cortical and subcortical network abnormalities and NSS-related grey matter covarying patterns in the schizophrenia and unaffected siblings. Our findings suggest that brain regions implicating genetic liability to schizophrenia are partly separated from brain regions implicating neural abnormalities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li Kong
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Department of Psychology, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Simon S Y Lui
- Department of Psychiatry, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; Castle Peak Hospital, Hong Kong, China
| | - Ya Wang
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Department of Psychology, the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | | | | | - Yi Wang
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Department of Psychology, the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Jia Huang
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Department of Psychology, the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Henry K F Mak
- Department of Diagnostic Radiology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, the University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Pak C Sham
- Department of Psychiatry, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, the University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; Centre for PanorOmic Sciences, the University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | | | - Raymond C K Chan
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Department of Psychology, the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
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Hirjak D, Henemann GM, Schmitgen MM, Götz L, Wolf ND, Kubera KM, Sambataro F, Leménager T, Koenig J, Wolf RC. Cortical surface variation in individuals with excessive smartphone use. Dev Neurobiol 2022; 82:277-287. [PMID: 35332986 DOI: 10.1002/dneu.22872] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2021] [Revised: 01/14/2022] [Accepted: 03/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Excessive smartphone use has been repeatedly related to adverse effects on mental health and psychological well-being in young adults. The continued investigation of the neurobiological mechanism underlying excessive smartphone use - sometimes also referred to as "smartphone addiction" (SPA) - is considered a top priority in system neuroscience research. Despite progress in the past years, cortical morphology associated with SPA is still poorly understood. Here, we used structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at 3 T to investigate two cortical surface markers of distinct neurodevelopmental origin such as the complexity of cortical folding (CCF) and cortical thickness (CTh) in individuals with excessive smartphone use (n = 19) compared to individuals not fulfilling SPA criteria (n-SPA; n = 22). SPA was assessed using the Smartphone Addiction Inventory (SPAI). CCF and CTh were investigated using the Computational Anatomy Toolbox (CAT12). SPA individuals showed lower CCF in the right superior frontal gyrus as well as in the right caudal (cACC) and rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC) compared to n-SPA individuals (TFCE, uncorrected at p < 0.001). Following a dimensional approach, across the entire sample CCF of the right cACC was significantly associated with SPAI total score, as well as with distinct SPAI subdimensions, particularly time spent with the device, compulsivity, and sleep interference in all participants (n = 41; p < 0.05, FDR-corrected). Collectively, these findings suggest that SPA is associated with aberrant structural maturation of regions important for cognitive control and emotional regulation. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dusan Hirjak
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Gudrun M Henemann
- Department of General Psychiatry, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Mike M Schmitgen
- Department of General Psychiatry, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Larissa Götz
- Department of General Psychiatry, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Nadine D Wolf
- Department of General Psychiatry, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Katharina M Kubera
- Department of General Psychiatry, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Fabio Sambataro
- Department of Neurosciences, Padua Neuroscience Center, University of Padova, Padua, Italy
| | - Tagrid Leménager
- Department of Addictive Behavior and Addiction Medicine, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Julian Koenig
- University of Cologne, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Cologne, Germany
| | - Robert Christian Wolf
- Department of General Psychiatry, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
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5
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Chrobak AA, Siuda-Krzywicka K, Sołtys Z, Siwek GP, Bohaterewicz B, Sobczak AM, Ceglarek A, Tereszko A, Starowicz-Filip A, Fąfrowicz M, Marek T, Siwek M, Dudek D. Relationship between neurological and cerebellar soft signs, and implicit motor learning in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2021; 111:110137. [PMID: 33053417 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2020.110137] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2020] [Revised: 08/22/2020] [Accepted: 10/06/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Schizophrenia (SZ) and bipolar disorder (BD) patients share deficits in motor functions in the form of neurological (NSS) and cerebellar soft signs (CSS), and implicit motor learning disturbances. Here, we use cluster analysis method to assess (1) the relationship between those abnormalities in SZ and BD and (2) the differences between those groups. METHODS 33 SZ patients, 33 BD patients as well as 31 healthy controls (HC) took part in the study. We assessed CSS with the International Cooperative Ataxia Rating Scale (ICARS) and NSS with the Neurological Evaluation Scale (NES). Implicit motor learning was evaluated with the Serial Reaction Time Task (SRTT). Participants were divided into clusters (Ward's method) based on the mean response time and mean error rate in SRTT. The difference in ICARS and NES scores, and SRTT variables between clusters were evaluated. We have measured associations between SRTT parameters and both ICARS and NES total scores and subscores. RESULTS Cluster analysis based on the SRTT parameters allowed to extract three clusters. Those were characterized by the increasing disruption of motor functioning (psychomotor retardation, the severity of NSS and CSS) regardless of the diagnosis. Cluster 1 covered almost all of HC and was characterized by faster reaction times and small number of errors. BD and SZ patients represented in cluster 1, although fully functional in performing the SRTT, showed higher rates of NSS and CSS. Patients with BD and SZ were set apart in clusters 2 and 3 in a similar proportion. Cluster 2 presented significantly slower reaction times but with the comparable number of errors to cluster 1. Cluster 3 consisted of participants with normal or decreased reaction time and significantly increased number of errors. None of the clusters were predominantly composed of the patients representing one psychiatric diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS To our best knowledge, we are presenting the first data indicating the relationship between implicit motor learning and NSS and CSS in SZ and BD patients' groups. Lack of clusters predominantly represented by patients with the diagnosis of SZ or BD may refer to the model of schizophrenia-bipolar disorder boundary, pointing out the similarities between those two disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adrian Andrzej Chrobak
- Department of Adult Psychiatry, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Cracow, Poland.
| | - Katarzyna Siuda-Krzywicka
- Sorbonne Université, Inserm U 1127, CNRS UMR 7225, Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle épinière, ICM, Hôpital de la Pitie´ -Salpêtrière, 75013 Paris, France
| | - Zbigniew Sołtys
- Jagiellonian University, Institute of Zoology and Biomedical Research, Department of Neuroanatomy, Cracow, Poland
| | | | - Bartosz Bohaterewicz
- Jagiellonian University, Department of Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroergonomics, Cracow, Poland
| | - Anna Maria Sobczak
- Jagiellonian University, Department of Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroergonomics, Cracow, Poland
| | - Anna Ceglarek
- Jagiellonian University, Department of Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroergonomics, Cracow, Poland
| | - Anna Tereszko
- Department of Psychiatry, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Cracow, Poland
| | - Anna Starowicz-Filip
- Medical Psychology Department, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Cracow, Poland
| | - Magdalena Fąfrowicz
- Jagiellonian University, Department of Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroergonomics, Cracow, Poland
| | - Tadeusz Marek
- Jagiellonian University, Department of Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroergonomics, Cracow, Poland
| | - Marcin Siwek
- Department of Affective Disorders, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Cracow, Poland
| | - Dominika Dudek
- Department of Adult Psychiatry, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Cracow, Poland
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Wasserthal J, Maier-Hein KH, Neher PF, Wolf RC, Northoff G, Waddington JL, Kubera KM, Fritze S, Harneit A, Geiger LS, Tost H, Hirjak D. White matter microstructure alterations in cortico-striatal networks are associated with parkinsonism in schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol 2021; 50:64-74. [PMID: 33984810 DOI: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2021.04.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2020] [Revised: 03/15/2021] [Accepted: 04/10/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
The specific role of white matter (WM) microstructure in parkinsonism among patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD) is largely unknown. To determine whether topographical alterations of WM microstructure contribute to parkinsonism in SSD patients, we examined healthy controls (HC, n=16) and SSD patients with and without parkinsonism, as defined by Simpson-Angus Scale total score of ≥4 (SSD-P, n=33) or <4 (SSD-nonP, n=62). We used whole brain tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS), tractometry (along tract statistics using TractSeg) and graph analytics (clustering coefficient (CCO), local betweenness centrality (BC)) to provide a framework of specific WM microstructural changes underlying parkinsonism in SSD. Using these methods, post hoc analyses showed (a) decreased fractional anisotrophy (FA), as measured via tractometry, in the corpus callosum, corticospinal tract and striato-fronto-orbital tract, and (b) increased CCO, as derived by graph analytics, in the left orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and left superior frontal gyrus (SFG), in SSD-P patients when compared to SSD-nonP patients. Increased CCO in the left OFC and SFG was associated with SAS scores. These findings indicate the prominence of OFC alterations and aberrant connectivity with fronto-parietal regions and striatum in the pathogenesis of parkinsonism in SSD. This study further supports the notion of altered "bottom-up modulation" between basal ganglia and fronto-parietal regions in the pathobiology of parkinsonism, which may reflect an interaction between movement disorder intrinsic to SSD and antipsychotic drug-induced sensorimotor dysfunction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jakob Wasserthal
- Division of Medical Imaging Computing (MIC), German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany; Medical Faculty Heidelberg, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Klaus H Maier-Hein
- Division of Medical Imaging Computing (MIC), German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany; Section of Automated Image Analysis, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Peter F Neher
- Division of Medical Imaging Computing (MIC), German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany; Medical Faculty Heidelberg, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Robert C Wolf
- Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Department of General Psychiatry, University of Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Georg Northoff
- Mind, Brain Imaging and Neuroethics Research Unit, The Royal's Institute of Mental Health Research, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - John L Waddington
- School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Katharina M Kubera
- Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Department of General Psychiatry, University of Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Stefan Fritze
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Anais Harneit
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Research Group System Neuroscience in Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Lena S Geiger
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Research Group System Neuroscience in Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Heike Tost
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Research Group System Neuroscience in Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Dusan Hirjak
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany.
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7
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Wolf RC, Werler F, Wittemann M, Schmitgen MM, Kubera KM, Wolf ND, Reith W, Hirjak D. Structural correlates of sensorimotor dysfunction in heavy cannabis users. Addict Biol 2021; 26:e13032. [PMID: 33951262 DOI: 10.1111/adb.13032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2020] [Revised: 01/21/2021] [Accepted: 03/05/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Sensorimotor dysfunction has been previously reported in persons with cannabis dependence. Such individuals can exhibit increased levels of neurological soft signs (NSS), particularly involving motor coordination and sensorimotor integration. Whether such abnormalities may also apply to non-dependent individuals with heavy cannabis use (HCU) is unknown, as much as the neural correlates underlying such deficits. In this study, we investigated associations between NSS and gray matter volume (GMV) in males with HCU and male controls. Twenty-four persons with HCU and 17 controls were examined using standardized assessment of NSS and structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at 3 T. GMV was calculated using voxel-based morphometry algorithms provided by the Computational Anatomy Toolbox (CAT12). Individuals with HCU showed higher NSS total scores compared to controls. In particular, significant NSS-subdomain effects were found for "motor coordination" (MoCo), "complex motor tasks" (CoMT), and "hard signs" (HS) expression in HCU (p < 0.05, Bonferroni-corrected). Compared to controls, persons with HCU showed significant NSS/GMV interactions in putamen and inferior frontal cortex (MoCo), right cerebellum (CoMT) and middle and superior frontal cortices, and bilateral precentral cortex and thalamus (HS). In between-group analyses, individuals with HCU showed lower GMV in the right anterior orbital and precentral gyrus, as well as higher GMV in the right superior frontal gyrus and left supplementary motor cortex compared to controls. The data support the notion of abnormal sensorimotor performance associated with HCU. The data also provide a neuromechanistic understanding of such deficits, particularly with respect to aberrant cortical-thalamic-cerebellar-cortical circuit.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert Christian Wolf
- Department of General Psychiatry at the Center for Psychosocial Medicine Heidelberg University Heidelberg Germany
| | - Florian Werler
- Department of General Psychiatry at the Center for Psychosocial Medicine Heidelberg University Heidelberg Germany
| | - Miriam Wittemann
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy Saarland University Saarbrücken Germany
| | - Mike M. Schmitgen
- Department of General Psychiatry at the Center for Psychosocial Medicine Heidelberg University Heidelberg Germany
| | - Katharina M. Kubera
- Department of General Psychiatry at the Center for Psychosocial Medicine Heidelberg University Heidelberg Germany
| | - Nadine D. Wolf
- Department of General Psychiatry at the Center for Psychosocial Medicine Heidelberg University Heidelberg Germany
| | - Wolfgang Reith
- Department of Neuroradiology Saarland University Saarbrücken Germany
| | - Dusan Hirjak
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim Heidelberg University Mannheim Germany
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8
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Viher PV, Stegmayer K, Bracht T, Federspiel A, Bohlhalter S, Strik W, Wiest R, Walther S. Neurological Soft Signs Are Associated With Altered White Matter in Patients With Schizophrenia. Schizophr Bull 2021; 48:220-230. [PMID: 34355246 PMCID: PMC8781326 DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbab089] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Neurological soft signs (NSS) are related to grey matter and functional brain abnormalities in schizophrenia. Studies in healthy subjects suggest, that NSS are also linked to white matter. However, the association between NSS and white matter abnormalities in schizophrenia remains to be elucidated. The present study investigated, if NSS are related to white matter alterations in patients with schizophrenia. The total sample included 42 healthy controls and 41 patients with schizophrenia. We used the Neurological Evaluation Scale (NES), and we acquired diffusion weighted magnetic resonance imaging to assess white matter on a voxel-wise between subject statistic. In patients with schizophrenia, linear associations between NES with fractional anisotropy (FA), radial, axial, and mean diffusivity were analyzed with tract-based spatial statistics while controlling for age, medication dose, the severity of the disease, and motion. The main pattern of results in patients showed a positive association of NES with all diffusion measures except FA in important motor pathways: the corticospinal tract, internal capsule, superior longitudinal fascicle, thalamocortical radiations and corpus callosum. In addition, exploratory tractography analysis revealed an association of the right aslant with NES in patients. These results suggest that specific white matter alterations, that is, increased diffusivity might contribute to NSS in patients with schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Petra Verena Viher
- Translational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Switzerland,To whom correspondence should be addressed; Translational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Bolligenstrasse 111, 3000 Bern 60, Switzerland; tel: +41-31-930-97-57, fax: +41-31-930-94-04, e-mail:
| | - Katharina Stegmayer
- Translational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Switzerland
| | - Tobias Bracht
- Translational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Switzerland
| | - Andrea Federspiel
- Translational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Switzerland
| | - Stephan Bohlhalter
- Department of Clinical Research, University Hospital, Inselspital, Bern, Switzerland,Neurocenter, Luzerner Kantonsspital, Switzerland
| | - Werner Strik
- Translational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Switzerland
| | - Roland Wiest
- Support Center of Advanced Neuroimaging, Institute of Neuroradiology, University of Bern, Switzerland
| | - Sebastian Walther
- Translational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Switzerland
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9
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Bachmann S, Beck M, Tsai DH, Haupt F. Neurological Soft Signs (NSS) in Census-Based, Decade-Adjusted Healthy Adults, 20 to >70 Years of Age. Front Psychiatry 2021; 12:670539. [PMID: 34248707 PMCID: PMC8264425 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.670539] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2021] [Accepted: 04/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Neurological soft signs (NSS) represent minor neurological features and have been widely studied in psychiatric disease. The assessment is easily performed. Quantity and quality may provide useful information concerning the disease course. Mostly, NSS scores differ significantly between patients and controls. However, literature does not give reference values. In this pilot study, we recruited 120 healthy women and men to build a cross-sectional, census-based sample of healthy individuals, aged 20 to >70 years, subdivided in 10-year blocks for a close approach to the human lifeline. Testing for NSS and neurocognitive functioning was performed following the exclusion of mental and severe physical illness. NSS scores increased significantly between ages 50+ and 60+, which was primarily accountable to motor signs. Gender and cognitive functioning were not related to changes of scores. Although the number of individuals is small, study results may lay a foundation for further validation of NSS in healthy individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silke Bachmann
- Department of Psychiatry, University Hospitals of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
- Department of Psychiatry, University Hospitals and Martin-Luther University, Halle, Germany
| | - Michaela Beck
- Geriatriezentrum Zwenkau, Sana Kliniken AG, Zwenkau, Germany
| | - Dai-Hua Tsai
- Swiss Centre for Occupational and Environmental Health (SCOEH), Winterthur, Switzerland
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10
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Khoweiled AA, Gaafar Y, El Makawi SM, Kamel RM, Ayoub DR. Neurological soft signs correlation with symptom severity in borderline personality disorder. MIDDLE EAST CURRENT PSYCHIATRY 2021. [DOI: 10.1186/s43045-020-00078-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Background
Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a severe psychiatric disorder with multiple psychopathological domains; so studying the correlation of clinical or behavioral data with underlying structural and functional neurological findings in BPD is the focus of interest in recent years.
The aim of our study was to compare the presence of neurological soft signs (NSS) in patients with borderline personality disorder with their presence in normal controls, and to correlate the severity of different symptoms of BPD with the presence of NSS through a case-control study which was conducted on 30 patients and 30 matching controls recruited from Al Kasr Al Ainy Hospital, Cairo University, Egypt. All subjects were assessed by the Borderline Personality Questionnaire, the Barratt Impulsivity Scale-11, the Brief Non-Suicidal Self-Injury Assessment tool, and the Cambridge Neurological Inventory.
Results
The BPD group had significantly higher total NSS scores, primitive reflexes subscale score, and sensory integration subscale scores. There was also a positive correlation between NSS and overall severity of borderline symptoms.
Conclusions
The increased rates of NSS were associated with specific clinical symptoms in BPD including suicidality, self-harm, emptiness, and quasi-psychosis. Impulsivity was found to have the highest correlation with NSS.
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11
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Wolf RC, Rashidi M, Schmitgen MM, Fritze S, Sambataro F, Kubera KM, Hirjak D. Neurological Soft Signs Predict Auditory Verbal Hallucinations in Patients With Schizophrenia. Schizophr Bull 2020; 47:433-443. [PMID: 33097950 PMCID: PMC7965075 DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbaa146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Neurological soft signs (NSS) are well documented in individuals with schizophrenia (SZ), yet so far, the relationship between NSS and specific symptom expression is unclear. We studied 76 SZ patients using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to determine associations between NSS, positive symptoms, gray matter volume (GMV), and neural activity at rest. SZ patients were hypothesis-driven stratified according to the presence or absence of auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH; n = 34 without vs 42 with AVH) according to the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale. Structural MRI data were analyzed using voxel-based morphometry, whereas intrinsic neural activity was investigated using regional homogeneity (ReHo) measures. Using ANCOVA, AVH patients showed significantly higher NSS in motor and integrative functions (IF) compared with non-hallucinating (nAVH) patients. Partial correlation revealed that NSS IF were positively associated with AVH symptom severity in AVH patients. Such associations were not confirmed for delusions. In region-of-interest ANCOVAs comprising the left middle and superior temporal gyri, right paracentral lobule, and right inferior parietal lobule (IPL) structure and function, significant differences between AVH and nAVH subgroups were not detected. In a binary logistic regression model, IF scores and right IPL ReHo were significant predictors of AVH. These data suggest significant interrelationships between sensorimotor integration abilities, brain structure and function, and AVH symptom expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert C Wolf
- Department of General Psychiatry, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany,To whom correspondence should be addressed; Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Department of General Psychiatry, Heidelberg University, Voßstraße 4, 69115 Heidelberg, Germany; tel: +49-6221-564405, fax: +49-6221-564481, e-mail:
| | - Mahmoud Rashidi
- Department of General Psychiatry, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany,Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Mike M Schmitgen
- Department of General Psychiatry, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Stefan Fritze
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Fabio Sambataro
- Department of Neuroscience (DNS), University of Padova, Padua, Italy,Padua Neuroscience Center, University of Padova, Padua, Italy
| | - Katharina M Kubera
- Department of General Psychiatry, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Dusan Hirjak
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany
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12
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Walther S, van Harten PN, Waddington JL, Cuesta MJ, Peralta V, Dupin L, Foucher JR, Sambataro F, Morrens M, Kubera KM, Pieters LE, Stegmayer K, Strik W, Wolf RC, Hirjak D. Movement disorder and sensorimotor abnormalities in schizophrenia and other psychoses - European consensus on assessment and perspectives. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol 2020; 38:25-39. [PMID: 32713718 DOI: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2020.07.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2020] [Revised: 06/06/2020] [Accepted: 07/06/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Over the last three decades, movement disorder as well as sensorimotor and psychomotor functioning in schizophrenia (SZ) and other psychoses has gained greater scientific and clinical relevance as an intrinsic component of the disease process of psychotic illness; this extends to early psychosis prediction, early detection of motor side effects of antipsychotic medication, clinical outcome monitoring, treatment of psychomotor syndromes (e.g. catatonia), and identification of new targets for non-invasive brain stimulation. In 2017, a systematic cooperation between working groups interested in movement disorder and sensorimotor/psychomotor functioning in psychoses was initiated across European universities. As a first step, the members of this group would like to introduce and define the theoretical aspects of the sensorimotor domain in SZ and other psychoses. This consensus paper is based on a synthesis of scientific evidence, good clinical practice and expert opinions that were discussed during recent conferences hosted by national and international psychiatric associations. While reviewing and discussing the recent theoretical and experimental work on neural mechanisms and clinical implications of sensorimotor behavior, we here seek to define the key principles and elements of research on movement disorder and sensorimotor/psychomotor functioning in psychotic illness. Finally, the members of this European group anticipate that this consensus paper will stimulate further multimodal and prospective studies on hypo- and hyperkinetic movement disorders and sensorimotor/psychomotor functioning in SZ and other psychotic disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian Walther
- Translational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Switzerland
| | - Peter N van Harten
- Psychiatric Center GGz Centraal, Amersfoort, The Netherlands; Department of Psychiatry, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, the Netherlands
| | - John L Waddington
- School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Manuel J Cuesta
- Department of Psychiatry, Complejo Hospitalario de Navarra, Spain. Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Navarra (IdisNa), Spain
| | - Victor Peralta
- Mental Health Department, Servicio Navarro de Salud, Pamplona, Spain, Navarra Institute for Health Research, IdiSNA, Pamplona, Spain
| | - Lucile Dupin
- Institut de Psychiatrie et Neurosciences de Paris, INSERM U1266, Université de Paris, Paris, France
| | - Jack R Foucher
- ICube - CNRS UMR 7357, Neurophysiology, FMTS, University of Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France; CEMNIS - Noninvasive Neuromodulation Center, University Hospital Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
| | - Fabio Sambataro
- Department of Neuroscience (DNS), University of Padova, Padova, Italy; Padova Neuroscience Center, University of Padova, Padua, Italy
| | - Manuel Morrens
- Department of Psychiatry, University Psychiatric Center Duffel, Duffel, Belgium; Department of Psychiatry, Collaborative Antwerp Psychiatric Research Institute (CAPRI), Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Katharina M Kubera
- Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Department of General Psychiatry, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Lydia E Pieters
- Psychiatric Center GGz Centraal, Amersfoort, The Netherlands; Department of Psychiatry, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, the Netherlands
| | - Katharina Stegmayer
- Translational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Switzerland
| | - Werner Strik
- Translational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Switzerland
| | - R Christian Wolf
- Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Department of General Psychiatry, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Dusan Hirjak
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany.
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13
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Quispe Escudero D, Herold CJ, Kong L, Schröder J. Neurological soft signs (NSS) and gray matter volume (GMV) in first-episode psychosis: An analysis of NSS motor subscores. Psychiatry Res Neuroimaging 2020; 300:111067. [PMID: 32298949 DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2020.111067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2019] [Revised: 03/06/2020] [Accepted: 03/10/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
We aimed to study the correlations between gray matter volume and the motor subscores of NSS in first-episode psychosis patients with both, whole brain and region of interest analyses. The structural MRIs of 81 first-episode psychosis patients were analyzed by using voxel-based morphometry (VBM) for SPM. NSS were assessed using the Heidelberg scale. Significant decreases of gray matter volume were correlated to high NSS total scores and, more specifically, frontal, subcortical and cerebellar areas were significantly correlated with increased scores of the subscores Motor Coordination (MoCo) and Complex Motor Tasks (CMT). When applying a stricter statistical correction, only the frontal gyrus and caudate nucleus survived for MoCo; whereas the precentral and superior frontal gyri survived for CMT. When doing regional analyses, using as masks the structures deemed as significant by the whole brain analyses and applying the FWE-correction, the superior frontal gyrus, thalamus and caudate nucleus correlated negatively with MoCo; and the precentral and superior frontal gyri, thalamus and caudate nucleus showed inverse correlations with CMT. These results suggest that cerebral cortex, subcortical structures (thalamus and striatum) and cerebellum are inversely correlated to both motor NSS subscores, the first time a study describes this relationship for all the relevant structures simultaneously. For its part, ROI proves to be effective demonstrating that subcortical structures (thalamus and caudate) are the most affected by motor NSS.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Quispe Escudero
- Section of Geriatric Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, University of Heidelberg, Germany.
| | - Christina J Herold
- Section of Geriatric Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, University of Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Li Kong
- College of Education, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Johannes Schröder
- Section of Geriatric Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, University of Heidelberg, Germany
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14
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Herold CJ, Essig M, Schröder J. Neurological soft signs (NSS) and brain morphology in patients with chronic schizophrenia and healthy controls. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0231669. [PMID: 32320431 PMCID: PMC7176089 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0231669] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2019] [Accepted: 03/28/2020] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Subtle abnormalities in sensory integration, motor coordination and sequencing of complex motor acts or neurological soft signs (NSS) are characteristic phenomena in patients with schizophrenia at any stage of the illness. Previous MRI studies in schizophrenia found NSS to be associated with cortical, thalamic and cerebellar changes. Since these studies mainly focused on first-episode or recent onset schizophrenia, the cerebral correlates of NSS in chronic schizophrenia remained rather unclear. 49 middle-aged patients with chronic schizophrenia with a mean duration of illness of 20.3 ± 14.0 years and 29 healthy subjects matched for age and sex were included. NSS were examined on the Heidelberg Scale and correlated to grey matter (GM) by using whole brain high resolution magnetic resonance imaging (3 Tesla) with SPM12/CAT12 analyses. As expected, NSS in patients were significantly (p≤0.001) elevated in contrast to healthy controls, a finding, which not only applied to NSS total score, but also to the respective subscales "motor coordination", "sensory integration", "complex motor tasks", "right/left and spatial orientation" and "hard signs". Within the patient group NSS total scores were significantly correlated to reduced GM in right lingual gyrus, left parahippocampal gyrus, left superior temporal gyrus, left thalamus (medial dorsal nucleus) and left posterior lobe of the cerebellum (declive). Respective negative associations could also be revealed for the subscales "motor coordination", "complex motor tasks" and "right/left and spatial orientation". These findings remained significant after FWE-correction for multiple comparisons and were confirmed when years of education, chlorpromazine-equivalents or variables indicating the severity of psychopathology were introduced as additional covariates. According to our results lingual, parahippocampal, superior temporal, inferior and middle frontal gyri, thalamus and cerebellum have to be considered as important sites of NSS in chronic schizophrenia. That these findings only applied for patients but not healthy controls may indicate a different pathogenesis of NSS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christina J. Herold
- Department of General Psychiatry, Section of Geriatric Psychiatry, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Marco Essig
- Department of Radiology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada
| | - Johannes Schröder
- Department of General Psychiatry, Section of Geriatric Psychiatry, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
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15
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Kong L, Herold CJ, Cheung EFC, Chan RCK, Schröder J. Neurological Soft Signs and Brain Network Abnormalities in Schizophrenia. Schizophr Bull 2020; 46:562-571. [PMID: 31773162 PMCID: PMC7147582 DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbz118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
Neurological soft signs (NSS) are often found in patients with schizophrenia. A wealth of neuroimaging studies have reported that NSS are related to disturbed cortical-subcortical-cerebellar circuitry in schizophrenia. However, the association between NSS and brain network abnormalities in patients with schizophrenia remains unclear. In this study, the graph theoretical approach was used to analyze brain network characteristics based on structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data. NSS were assessed using the Heidelberg scale. We found that there was no significant difference in global network properties between individuals with high and low levels of NSS. Regional network analysis showed that NSS were associated with betweenness centrality involving the inferior orbital frontal cortex, the middle temporal cortex, the hippocampus, the supramarginal cortex, the amygdala, and the cerebellum. Global network analysis also demonstrated that NSS were associated with the distribution of network hubs involving the superior medial frontal cortex, the superior and middle temporal cortices, the postcentral cortex, the amygdala, and the cerebellum. Our findings suggest that NSS are associated with alterations in topological attributes of brain networks corresponding to the cortical-subcortical-cerebellum circuit in patients with schizophrenia, which may provide a new perspective for elucidating the neural basis of NSS in schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li Kong
- College of Education, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, China
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Christina J Herold
- Section of Geriatric Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Eric F C Cheung
- Department of Adult Psychiatry, Castle Peak Hospital, Hong Kong, China
| | - Raymond C K Chan
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Department of Psychology, the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Johannes Schröder
- Section of Geriatric Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
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16
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Wang X, Herold CJ, Kong L, Schroeder J. Associations between brain structural networks and neurological soft signs in healthy adults. Psychiatry Res Neuroimaging 2019; 293:110989. [PMID: 31634787 DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2019.110989] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2019] [Revised: 10/08/2019] [Accepted: 10/11/2019] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Neurological soft signs (NSS), as minor neurological deficits, have been identified in several psychiatric disorders, especially in schizophrenia. However, it's unclear how the neuropathological processes of the disease affect NSS related brain morphological changes and whether it is confounded by the use of medication. As NSS also exist in healthy people, the potential confounding effects of psychopathology or medication will be excluded if NSS are investigated in healthy people. Therefore, we applied a novel multivariate approach, source-based morphometry (SBM), to study structural networks in relation to NSS in healthy adults based on structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data. The Heidelberg Scale was applied to evaluate NSS. Using SBM, we constructed structural networks and investigated their associations with NSS in healthy adults. Six grey matter (GM) structural networks were identified. Sensory integration subscores were associated with the cerebellar component and the cortico-basal ganglia-thalamic component. Motor coordination subscores and total NSS scores were associated with the sensorimotor component. The present findings indicated that structural network abnormalities in cerebellar, subcortical and cortical sensorimotor areas contribute to NSS performance in healthy adults.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xingsong Wang
- College of Education, Shanghai Normal University, No. 100 Guilin Road, 200234, Shanghai, China
| | - Christina J Herold
- Section of Geriatric Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, University of Heidelberg, Vossstrasse 4, DE-69115 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Li Kong
- College of Education, Shanghai Normal University, No. 100 Guilin Road, 200234, Shanghai, China.
| | - Johannes Schroeder
- Section of Geriatric Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, University of Heidelberg, Vossstrasse 4, DE-69115 Heidelberg, Germany.
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17
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Hirjak D, Rashidi M, Fritze S, Bertolino AL, Geiger LS, Zang Z, Kubera KM, Schmitgen MM, Sambataro F, Calhoun VD, Weisbrod M, Tost H, Wolf RC. Patterns of co-altered brain structure and function underlying neurological soft signs in schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Hum Brain Mapp 2019; 40:5029-5041. [PMID: 31403239 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.24755] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2019] [Revised: 06/28/2019] [Accepted: 07/22/2019] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Neurological soft signs (NSS) comprise a broad range of subtle neurological deficits and are considered to represent external markers of sensorimotor dysfunction frequently found in mental disorders of presumed neurodevelopmental origin. Although NSS frequently occur in schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD), specific patterns of co-altered brain structure and function underlying NSS in SSD have not been investigated so far. It is unclear whether gray matter volume (GMV) alterations or aberrant brain activity or a combination of both, are associated with NSS in SSD. Here, 37 right-handed SSD patients and 37 matched healthy controls underwent motor assessment and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at 3 T. NSS were examined on the Heidelberg NSS scale. We used a multivariate data fusion technique for multimodal MRI data-multiset canonical correlation and joint independent component analysis (mCCA + jICA)-to investigate co-altered patterns of GMV and intrinsic neural fluctuations (INF) in SSD patients exhibiting NSS. The mCCA + jICA model indicated two joint group-discriminating components (temporoparietal/cortical sensorimotor and frontocerebellar/frontoparietal networks) and one modality-specific group-discriminating component (p < .05, FDR corrected). NSS motor score was associated with joint frontocerebellar/frontoparietal networks in SSD patients. This study highlights complex neural pathomechanisms underlying NSS in SSD suggesting aberrant structure and function, predominantly in cortical and cerebellar systems that critically subserve sensorimotor dynamics and psychomotor organization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dusan Hirjak
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Mahmoud Rashidi
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany.,Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Department of General Psychiatry, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Stefan Fritze
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Alina L Bertolino
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Lena S Geiger
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Research Group Systems Neuroscience in Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Zhenxiang Zang
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Research Group Systems Neuroscience in Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Katharina M Kubera
- Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Department of General Psychiatry, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Mike M Schmitgen
- Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Department of General Psychiatry, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Fabio Sambataro
- Department of Neuroscience (DNS), University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Vince D Calhoun
- The Mind Research Network, Albuquerque, New Mexico.,Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico.,Tri-institutional Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science (TReNDS), Georgia State University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Matthias Weisbrod
- Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Department of General Psychiatry, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany.,Department of Adult Psychiatry, SRH-Klinikum, Karlsbad-Langensteinbach, Germany
| | - Heike Tost
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Research Group Systems Neuroscience in Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Robert C Wolf
- Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Department of General Psychiatry, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
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18
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Association between self-reported impulsiveness and gray matter volume in healthy adults. An exploratory MRI study. Neurosci Lett 2018; 674:112-116. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2018.03.042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2018] [Revised: 02/19/2018] [Accepted: 03/18/2018] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
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19
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Fountoulakis KN, Panagiotidis P, Kimiskidis V, Nimatoudis I, Gonda X. Prevalence and correlates of neurological soft signs in healthy controls without family history of any mental disorder: A neurodevelopmental variation rather than a specific risk factor? Int J Dev Neurosci 2018; 68:59-65. [PMID: 29705589 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijdevneu.2018.04.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2018] [Revised: 04/08/2018] [Accepted: 04/20/2018] [Indexed: 10/17/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Neurological soft signs (NSS) are a group of minor non-localizable neurological abnormalities found more often in patients with schizophrenia and other mental disorders. The aim of the current study was to investigate their prevalence and correlates in healthy controls without family history of any mental disorder. MATERIAL AND METHODS The study sample included 122 normal subjects (66 males and 56 females; aged 32.89 ± 9.91 years old). The assessment included the Neurological Evaluation Scale (NES), and a number of scales assessing the subthreshold symptoms (MADRS, STAI) and functioning (GAF). Data on a number of socio-demographic variables were also gathered. The statistical analysis included the development of basic statistics tables and the calculation of Pearson correlation coefficients. RESULTS The results of the current study suggest that more than half of the study sample manifested at least one NSS and approximately 5% more than four. Still, the reported prevalence and NES scores are lower form those reported in the literature probably because of the carefully selected study sample. There were no significant correlations between NSS and any socio-demographic or clinical variable. DISCUSSION The current study is the first to study NSS in subjects without family history of any mental disorder and reports the presence of frequent silent neurodevelopmental events in the general population, probably in the form of a neurodevelopmental variation and possibly a weak generic rather than specific risk factor.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Panagiotis Panagiotidis
- 3rd Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Vasilios Kimiskidis
- Laboratory of Clinical Neurophysiology, School of Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Ioannis Nimatoudis
- 3rd Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Xenia Gonda
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary; MTA-SE Neuropsychopharmacology and Neurochemistry Research Group of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary; NAP-A-SE New Antidepressant Target Research Group, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
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20
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Hirjak D, Meyer-Lindenberg A, Kubera KM, Thomann PA, Wolf RC. Motor dysfunction as research domain in the period preceding manifest schizophrenia: A systematic review. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2018; 87:87-105. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2018.01.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2017] [Revised: 01/08/2018] [Accepted: 01/21/2018] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
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21
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de Bartolomeis A, Prinzivalli E, Callovini G, D'Ambrosio L, Altavilla B, Avagliano C, Iasevoli F. Treatment resistant schizophrenia and neurological soft signs may converge on the same pathology: Evidence from explanatory analysis on clinical, psychopathological, and cognitive variables. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2018; 81:356-366. [PMID: 28887181 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2017.09.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2017] [Revised: 08/17/2017] [Accepted: 09/03/2017] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Here, we investigated neurological soft signs (NSSs) in treatment resistant schizophrenia (TRS) vs treatment responder schizophrenia (SZ) patients. TRS is a severe condition, affecting approximately one-third of schizophrenia patients and representing a relevant clinical challenge. NSSs are neurological abnormalities reportedly described in schizophrenia patients and linked to dysregulated network connections. We explored the possibility that NSSs may be: i) more severe in TRS patients; ii) differentially associated to clinical/cognitive variables in TRS vs SZ; iii) predictive of having TRS. In addition, we evaluated whether diagnosis may mediate NSSs associations with the above-mentioned variables. Consecutive patients with schizophrenia diagnosis underwent stringent assessment for TRS diagnosis. Demographics and clinical variables were recorded. Psychopathology (by Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, PANSS), cognitive performances, and NSSs (by Neurological Evaluation Scale, NES) were tested. TRS had higher scores than SZ patients in total NES score and in almost all NES subscales, even after correction for duration of illness and antipsychotic dose (ANCOVA, p<0.05). NSSs significantly correlated with multiple clinical, psychopathological, and cognitive variables (above all: duration of disease and negative symptoms) in TRS but not in SZ patients. Two-way ANOVA showed NSS-x-diagnosis interaction in determining outcomes on multiple cognitive performances, but not in other clinical variables. However, simple main effect analysis detected a significant relationship between high severity NSSs and TRS diagnosis on multiple clinical and cognitive outcomes. Hierarchical regression analysis showed that diagnosis was among a discrete number of predictors yielding significant increases in variance explained on NES total, Sensory Integration and Other Signs subscales' scores. NSSs, together with antipsychotic dose and disease severity, were found to be significantly predictive of TRS diagnosis in a binary logistic regression model. These results suggest a stringent association between NSSs and TRS diagnosis, and may imply that NSSs association with clinical, psychopathological, and cognitive variables may be in part mediated by TRS diagnosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea de Bartolomeis
- Section of Psychiatry - Unit on Treatment Resistant Psychosis, Laboratory of Molecular and Translational Psychiatry, Department of Neuroscience, University School of Medicine Federico II, Naples, Italy.
| | - Emiliano Prinzivalli
- Section of Psychiatry - Unit on Treatment Resistant Psychosis, Laboratory of Molecular and Translational Psychiatry, Department of Neuroscience, University School of Medicine Federico II, Naples, Italy
| | - Gemma Callovini
- Section of Psychiatry - Unit on Treatment Resistant Psychosis, Laboratory of Molecular and Translational Psychiatry, Department of Neuroscience, University School of Medicine Federico II, Naples, Italy
| | - Luigi D'Ambrosio
- Section of Psychiatry - Unit on Treatment Resistant Psychosis, Laboratory of Molecular and Translational Psychiatry, Department of Neuroscience, University School of Medicine Federico II, Naples, Italy
| | - Benedetta Altavilla
- Section of Psychiatry - Unit on Treatment Resistant Psychosis, Laboratory of Molecular and Translational Psychiatry, Department of Neuroscience, University School of Medicine Federico II, Naples, Italy
| | - Camilla Avagliano
- Section of Psychiatry - Unit on Treatment Resistant Psychosis, Laboratory of Molecular and Translational Psychiatry, Department of Neuroscience, University School of Medicine Federico II, Naples, Italy
| | - Felice Iasevoli
- Section of Psychiatry - Unit on Treatment Resistant Psychosis, Laboratory of Molecular and Translational Psychiatry, Department of Neuroscience, University School of Medicine Federico II, Naples, Italy
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22
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Li Z, Huang J, Xu T, Wang Y, Li K, Zeng YW, Lui SSY, Cheung EFC, Jin Z, Dazzan P, Glahn DC, Chan RCK. Neural mechanism and heritability of complex motor sequence and audiovisual integration: A healthy twin study. Hum Brain Mapp 2017; 39:1438-1448. [PMID: 29266498 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.23935] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2017] [Revised: 12/09/2017] [Accepted: 12/12/2017] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Complex motor sequencing and sensory integration are two key items in scales assessing neurological soft signs. However, the underlying neural mechanism and heritability of these two functions is not known. Using a healthy twin design, we adopted two functional brain imaging tasks focusing on fist-edge-palm (FEP) complex motor sequence and audiovisual integration (AVI). Fifty-six monozygotic twins and 56 dizygotic twins were recruited in this study. The pre- and postcentral, temporal and parietal gyri, the supplementary motor area, and the cerebellum were activated during the FEP motor sequence, whereas the precentral, temporal, and fusiform gyri, the thalamus, and the caudate were activated during AVI. Activation in the supplementary motor area during FEP motor sequence and activation in the precentral gyrus and the thalamic nuclei during AVI exhibited significant heritability estimates, ranging from 0.5 to 0.62. These results suggest that activation in cortical motor areas, the thalamus and the cerebellum associated with complex motor sequencing and audiovisual integration function may be heritable.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhi Li
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,Department of Psychology, The University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Jia Huang
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,Department of Psychology, The University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Ting Xu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Sciences, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,Center for the Developing Brain, Child Mind Institute, New York, New York
| | - Ya Wang
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,Department of Psychology, The University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Ke Li
- MRI Center, Hospital 306, Beijing, China
| | | | - Simon S Y Lui
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,Castle Peak Hospital, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Hong Kong, China
| | - Eric F C Cheung
- Castle Peak Hospital, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Hong Kong, China
| | - Zhen Jin
- MRI Center, Hospital 306, Beijing, China
| | - Paola Dazzan
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom.,National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King's College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - David C Glahn
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University & Olin Neuropsychiatric Research Center, Institute of Living, United States of America
| | - Raymond C K Chan
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,Department of Psychology, The University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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23
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Hirjak D, Northoff G, Thomann PA, Kubera KM, Wolf RC. Genuine motorische Phänomene bei schizophrenen Psychosen. DER NERVENARZT 2017; 89:27-43. [DOI: 10.1007/s00115-017-0434-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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24
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Hirjak D, Northoff G, Thomann PA, Kubera KM, Wolf RC. Genuine motorische Phänomene bei schizophrenen Psychosen. DER NERVENARZT 2017; 89:44-50. [DOI: 10.1007/s00115-017-0375-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
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25
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Hirjak D, Thomann PA, Wolf RC, Kubera KM, Goch C, Hering J, Maier-Hein KH. White matter microstructure variations contribute to neurological soft signs in healthy adults. Hum Brain Mapp 2017; 38:3552-3565. [PMID: 28429448 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.23609] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2017] [Revised: 03/26/2017] [Accepted: 03/29/2017] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Neurological soft signs (NSS) are core features of psychiatric disorders with significant neurodevelopmental origin. However, it is unclear whether NSS correlates are associated with neuropathological processes underlying the disease or if they are confounded by medication. Given that NSS are also present in healthy persons (HP), investigating HP could reveal NSS correlates, which are not biased by disease-specific processes or drug treatment. Therefore, we used a combination of diffusion MRI analysis tools to provide a framework of specific white matter (WM) microstructure variations underlying NSS in HP. METHOD NSS of 59 HP were examined on the Heidelberg Scale and related to diffusion associated metrics. Using tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS), we studied WM variations in fractional anisotropy (FA) as well as radial (RD), axial (AD), and mean diffusivity (MD). Using graph analytics (clustering coefficient-CC, local betweenness centrality -BC), we then explored DTI-derived structural network variations in regions identified by previous MRI studies on NSS. RESULTS NSS scores were negatively associated with RD, AD and MD in corpus callosum, brainstem and cerebellum (P < 0.05, corr.). NSS scores were negatively associated with CC and BC of the pallidum, the superior parietal gyrus, the precentral sulcus, the insula, and the cingulate gyrus (P < 0.05, uncorr.). CONCLUSION The present study supports the notion that WM microstructure variations in subcortical and cortical sensorimotor regions contribute to NSS expression in young HP. Hum Brain Mapp 38:3552-3565, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dusan Hirjak
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany.,Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Department of General Psychiatry, University of Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Philipp A Thomann
- Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Department of General Psychiatry, University of Heidelberg, Germany.,Center for Mental Health, Odenwald District Healthcare Center, Albert-Schweitzer-Straße 10-20, 64711, Erbach, Germany
| | - Robert C Wolf
- Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Department of General Psychiatry, University of Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Katharina M Kubera
- Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Department of General Psychiatry, University of Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Caspar Goch
- Medical Image Computing Group, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Jan Hering
- Medical Image Computing Group, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Klaus H Maier-Hein
- Medical Image Computing Group, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
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26
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Algarin C, Karunakaran KD, Reyes S, Morales C, Lozoff B, Peirano P, Biswal B. Differences on Brain Connectivity in Adulthood Are Present in Subjects with Iron Deficiency Anemia in Infancy. Front Aging Neurosci 2017; 9:54. [PMID: 28326037 PMCID: PMC5339238 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2017.00054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2016] [Accepted: 02/23/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Iron deficiency continues to be the most prevalent micronutrient deficit worldwide. Since iron is involved in several processes including myelination, dopamine neurotransmission and neuronal metabolism, the presence of iron deficiency anemia (IDA) in infancy relates to long-lasting neurofunctional effects. There is scarce data regarding whether these effects would extend to former iron deficient anemic human adults. Resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is a novel technique to explore patterns of functional connectivity. Default Mode Network (DMN), one of the resting state networks, is deeply involved in memory, social cognition and self-referential processes. The four core regions consistently identified in the DMN are the medial prefrontal cortex, posterior cingulate/retrosplenial cortex and left and right inferior parietal cortex. Therefore to investigate the DMN in former iron deficient anemic adults is a particularly useful approach to elucidate de long term effects on functional brain. We conducted this research to explore the connection between IDA in infancy and altered patterns of resting state brain functional networks in young adults. Resting-state fMRI studies were performed to 31 participants that belong to a follow-up study since infancy. Of them, 14 participants were former iron deficient anemic in infancy and 17 were controls, with mean age of 21.5 years (±1.5) and 54.8% were males. Resting-state fMRI protocol was used and the data was analyzed using the seed based connectivity statistical analysis to assess the DMN. We found that compared to controls, former iron deficient anemic subjects showed posterior DMN decreased connectivity to the left posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), whereas they exhibited increased anterior DMN connectivity to the right PCC. Differences between groups were also apparent in the left medial frontal gyrus, with former iron deficient anemic participants having increased connectivity with areas included in DMN and dorsal attention networks. These preliminary results suggest different patterns of functional connectivity between former iron deficient anemic and control young adults. Indeed, IDA in infancy, a common nutritional problem among human infants, may turn out to be important for understanding the mechanisms of cognitive alterations, common in adulthood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cecilia Algarin
- Sleep and Neurofunctional Laboratory, Institute of Nutrition and Food Technology, University of Chile Santiago, Chile
| | | | - Sussanne Reyes
- Sleep and Neurofunctional Laboratory, Institute of Nutrition and Food Technology, University of Chile Santiago, Chile
| | - Cristian Morales
- Sleep and Neurofunctional Laboratory, Institute of Nutrition and Food Technology, University of Chile Santiago, Chile
| | - Betsy Lozoff
- Center for Human Growth and Development, University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Patricio Peirano
- Sleep and Neurofunctional Laboratory, Institute of Nutrition and Food Technology, University of Chile Santiago, Chile
| | - Bharat Biswal
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology, University Heights Newark, NJ, USA
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27
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Mild neurological impairment may indicate a psychomotor endophenotype in patients with borderline personality disorder. Psychiatry Res 2016; 245:22-26. [PMID: 27526313 DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2016.08.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2015] [Revised: 07/09/2016] [Accepted: 08/03/2016] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
The aim of the present study was to determine whether patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) show any neurological soft signs compared to healthy controls. Furthermore we sought to examine the role of common symptoms related to BPD, such as depression, anxiety or impulsivity, in association with neurological soft signs. Thirty patients with borderline personality disorder and thirty hospital-based controls were examined for neurological soft signs. The total score of neurological soft signs in BPD was significantly higher than controls. In terms of subscales, patients had higher scores in Sensory Integration and Motor Coordination and other neurological soft signs compared to control group. Multiple regression analysis showed that the impulsivity score was the best significant predictor of neurological soft signs in BPD. The increase of neurological soft signs in patients with BPD may address a non-focal neurological dysfunction in borderline personality disorder.
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28
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Cortical folding patterns are associated with impulsivity in healthy young adults. Brain Imaging Behav 2016; 11:1592-1603. [DOI: 10.1007/s11682-016-9618-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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29
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Cerebellar contributions to neurological soft signs in healthy young adults. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 2016; 266:35-41. [PMID: 25708455 DOI: 10.1007/s00406-015-0582-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2014] [Accepted: 02/08/2015] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Neurological soft signs (NSS) are frequently found in psychiatric disorders of significant neurodevelopmental origin, e.g., in patients with schizophrenia and autism. Yet NSS are also present in healthy individuals suggesting a neurodevelopmental signature of motor function, probably as a continuum between health and disease. So far, little is known about the neural mechanisms underlying these motor phenomena in healthy persons, and it is even less known whether the cerebellum contributes to NSS expression. Thirty-seven healthy young adults (mean age = 23 years) were studied using high-resolution structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and "resting-state" functional MRI at three Tesla. NSS levels were measured using the "Heidelberg Scale." Cerebellar gray matter volume was investigated using cerebellum-optimized voxel-based analysis methods. Cerebellar function was assessed using regional homogeneity (ReHo), a measure of local network strength. The relationship between cerebellar structure and function and NSS was analyzed using regression models. There was no significant relationship between cerebellar volume and NSS (p < 0.005, uncorrected for height, p < 0.05 corrected for spatial extent). Positive associations with cerebellar lobule VI activity were found for the "motor coordination" and "hard signs" NSS domains. A negative relationship was found between lobule VI activity and "complex motor task" domain (p < 0.005, uncorrected for height, p < 0.05 corrected for spatial extent). The data indicate that in healthy young adults, distinct NSS domains are related to cerebellar activity, specifically with activity of cerebellar subregions with known cortical somatomotor projections. In contrast, cerebellar volume is not predictive of NSS in healthy persons.
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30
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Hirjak D, Thomann PA, Kubera KM, Wolf ND, Sambataro F, Wolf RC. Motor dysfunction within the schizophrenia-spectrum: A dimensional step towards an underappreciated domain. Schizophr Res 2015; 169:217-233. [PMID: 26547881 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2015.10.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2015] [Revised: 10/09/2015] [Accepted: 10/15/2015] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
At the beginning of the 20th century, genuine motor abnormalities (GMA) were considered to be intricately linked to schizophrenia. Subsequently, however, GMA have been increasingly regarded as unspecific transdiagnostic phenomena or related to side effects of antipsychotic treatment. Despite possible medication confounds, within the schizophrenia spectrum GMA have been categorized into three broad categories, i.e. neurological soft signs, abnormal involuntary movements and catatonia. Schizophrenia patients show a substantial overlap across a broad range of distinct motor signs and symptoms suggesting a prominent involvement of the motor system in disease pathophysiology. There have been several attempts to increase reliability and validity in diagnosing schizophrenia based on behavior and neurobiology, yet relatively little attention has been paid to the motor domain in the past. Nevertheless, accumulating neuroscientific evidence suggests the possibility of a motor endophenotype in schizophrenia, and that GMA could represent a specific dimension within the schizophrenia-spectrum. Here, we review current neuroimaging research on GMA in schizophrenia with an emphasis on distinct and common mechanisms of brain dysfunction. Based on a dimensional approach we show that multimodal neuroimaging combined with fine-grained clinical examination can result in a comprehensive characterization of structural and functional brain changes that are presumed to underlie core GMA in schizophrenia. We discuss the possibility of a distinct motor domain, together with its implications for future research. Investigating GMA by means of multimodal neuroimaging can essentially contribute at identifying novel and biologically reliable phenotypes in psychiatry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dusan Hirjak
- Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Department of General Psychiatry, University of Heidelberg, Germany.
| | - Philipp A Thomann
- Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Department of General Psychiatry, University of Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Katharina M Kubera
- Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Department of General Psychiatry, University of Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Nadine D Wolf
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Saarland University, Homburg, Germany
| | - Fabio Sambataro
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medical Sciences (DISM), University of Udine, Udine, Italy
| | - Robert C Wolf
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Saarland University, Homburg, Germany
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31
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Hirjak D, Wolf RC, Kubera KM, Stieltjes B, Thomann PA. Multiparametric mapping of neurological soft signs in healthy adults. Brain Struct Funct 2014; 221:1209-21. [DOI: 10.1007/s00429-014-0964-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2014] [Accepted: 12/09/2014] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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