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Liu W, Cai X, Chang Y, Zhu Y, Cai M, Xu J. Structural abnormalities in the Fronto-Parietal Network: Linking white matter integrity to sustained attention deficits in Schizophrenia. Brain Res Bull 2023; 205:110818. [PMID: 37972900 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainresbull.2023.110818] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2023] [Revised: 10/26/2023] [Accepted: 11/13/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023]
Abstract
Schizophrenia is associated with a range of cognitive deficits, among which impairments in sustained attention are particularly significant. Previous research has investigated functional changes in the fronto-parietal network (FPN) related to attentional control in schizophrenia. However, the role of structural connectivity within the FPN in sustained attention deficits remains under-explored. Utilizing diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), this study investigated white matter integrity in 75 participants, comprising 37 individuals with schizophrenia (SZ) and 38 healthy controls (HC). Psychomotor vigilance task (PVT) performance was assessed to gauge sustained attention. The SZ group showed a significant reduction in fractional anisotropy (FA) and streamline counts within white matter tracts connecting frontal and parietal regions, compared to the HC group. Further, significant negative correlations were found between PVT performance and white matter integrity measures within the SZ group, specifically in the left FPN. Our findings indicate that structural abnormalities in the FPN are associated with sustained attention deficits in schizophrenia. These results contribute to our understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms underlying cognitive impairments in schizophrenia and offer potential avenues for targeted therapeutic interventions. Further research is warranted to validate these outcomes and explore their clinical implications.
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Affiliation(s)
- WenMing Liu
- Department of Psychiatry, Xijing Hospital, Air Force Medical University, Xian, Shaanxi, China
| | - XinNan Cai
- Xian Investigation Surveying and Mapping Institute, Xian, Shaanxi, China
| | - Yingjuan Chang
- Department of Radiology, Xijing Hospital, Air Force Medical University, Xian, Shaanxi, China
| | - Yuanqiang Zhu
- Department of Radiology, Xijing Hospital, Air Force Medical University, Xian, Shaanxi, China
| | - Min Cai
- Department of Psychiatry, Xijing Hospital, Air Force Medical University, Xian, Shaanxi, China.
| | - Jian Xu
- Department of Radiology, Xijing Hospital, Air Force Medical University, Xian, Shaanxi, China; Department of Interventional Surgery center, Xijing Hospital, Air Force Medical University, Xian, Shaanxi, China.
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Chang X, Mandl RCW, Pasternak O, Brouwer RM, Cahn W, Collin G. Diffusion MRI derived free-water imaging measures in patients with schizophrenia and their non-psychotic siblings. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2021; 109:110238. [PMID: 33400942 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2020.110238] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2020] [Revised: 12/16/2020] [Accepted: 12/30/2020] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Free-water imaging is a diffusion MRI technique that separately models water diffusion hindered by fiber tissue and water that disperses freely in the extracellular space. Studies using this technique have shown that schizophrenia is characterized by a lower level of fractional anisotropy of the tissue compartment (FAt) and higher free-water fractional volume (FW). It is unknown, however, whether such abnormalities are an expression of pre-existing (genetic) risk for schizophrenia or a manifestation of the illness. To investigate the contribution of familial risk factors to white matter abnormalities, we used the free-water imaging technique to assess FAt and FW in a large cohort of 471 participants including 161 patients with schizophrenia, 182 non-psychotic siblings, and 128 healthy controls. In this sample, patients did not show significant differences in FAt as compared to controls, but did exhibit a higher level of FW relative to both controls and siblings in the left uncinate fasciculus, superior corona radiata and fornix / stria terminalis. This increase in FW was found to be related to, though not solely explained by, ventricular enlargement. Siblings did not show significant FW abnormalities. However, siblings did show a higher level of FAt as compared to controls and patients, in line with results of a previous study on the same data using conventional DTI. Taken together, our findings suggest that extracellular free-water accumulation in patients is likely a manifestation of established disease rather than an expression of familial risk for schizophrenia and that super-normal levels of FAt in unaffected siblings may reflect a compensatory process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiao Chang
- Department of Psychiatry, University Medical Center Utrecht (UMCU), UMCU Brain Center, Utrecht, the Netherlands; Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK; Institute of Science and Technology for Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
| | - René C W Mandl
- Department of Psychiatry, University Medical Center Utrecht (UMCU), UMCU Brain Center, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Ofer Pasternak
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA; Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA
| | - Rachel M Brouwer
- Department of Psychiatry, University Medical Center Utrecht (UMCU), UMCU Brain Center, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Wiepke Cahn
- Department of Psychiatry, University Medical Center Utrecht (UMCU), UMCU Brain Center, Utrecht, the Netherlands; Altrecht Institute of Mental Health Care, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Guusje Collin
- Department of Psychiatry, University Medical Center Utrecht (UMCU), UMCU Brain Center, Utrecht, the Netherlands; Department of Psychiatry, Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA; McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, USA
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Podwalski P, Tyburski E, Szczygieł K, Waszczuk K, Rek-Owodziń K, Mak M, Plichta P, Bielecki M, Rudkowski K, Kucharska-Mazur J, Andrusewicz W, Misiak B, Szulc A, Michalczyk A, Michałowska S, Sagan L, Samochowiec J. White Matter Integrity of the Corpus Callosum and Psychopathological Dimensions in Deficit and Non-Deficit Schizophrenia Patients. J Clin Med 2021; 10:jcm10112225. [PMID: 34063845 PMCID: PMC8196621 DOI: 10.3390/jcm10112225] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2021] [Revised: 05/04/2021] [Accepted: 05/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Deficit syndrome (DS) is a subtype of schizophrenia characterized by primary persistent negative symptoms. The corpus callosum (CC) appears to be related to psychopathology in schizophrenia. This study assessed white matter integrity in the CC using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in deficit and non-deficit schizophrenia (NDS) patients. We also investigated the psychopathological dimensions of schizophrenia and their relationship to CC integrity. Fifteen DS patients, 40 NDS patients, and 30 healthy controls (HC) underwent psychiatric evaluation and neuroimaging. We divided the CC into five regions and assessed their fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD). Psychopathology was assessed with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale. DS patients had lower FA than NDS patients and HC, and higher MD in Region 5 of the CC than did HC. NDS patients had higher MD in Region 4 of the CC. The patient groups differed in terms of negative symptoms. After differentiating clinical groups and HC, no significant correlations were observed between DTI measures and psychopathological symptoms. Our results suggest that DS and NDS are characterized by minor impairments of the posterior CC. We confirmed that DS patients have greater negative psychopathology than NDS patients. Our results are preliminary, and further studies are needed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Piotr Podwalski
- Department of Psychiatry, Pomeranian Medical University, 71-460 Szczecin, Poland; (K.S.); (K.W.); (K.R.); (J.K.-M.); (A.M.); (J.S.)
- Correspondence:
| | - Ernest Tyburski
- Institute of Psychology, SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, 61-719 Poznan, Poland;
| | - Krzysztof Szczygieł
- Department of Psychiatry, Pomeranian Medical University, 71-460 Szczecin, Poland; (K.S.); (K.W.); (K.R.); (J.K.-M.); (A.M.); (J.S.)
| | - Katarzyna Waszczuk
- Department of Psychiatry, Pomeranian Medical University, 71-460 Szczecin, Poland; (K.S.); (K.W.); (K.R.); (J.K.-M.); (A.M.); (J.S.)
| | - Katarzyna Rek-Owodziń
- Department of Health Psychology, Pomeranian Medical University, 71-460 Szczecin, Poland; (K.R.-O.); (M.M.); (P.P.); (M.B.)
| | - Monika Mak
- Department of Health Psychology, Pomeranian Medical University, 71-460 Szczecin, Poland; (K.R.-O.); (M.M.); (P.P.); (M.B.)
| | - Piotr Plichta
- Department of Health Psychology, Pomeranian Medical University, 71-460 Szczecin, Poland; (K.R.-O.); (M.M.); (P.P.); (M.B.)
| | - Maksymilian Bielecki
- Department of Health Psychology, Pomeranian Medical University, 71-460 Szczecin, Poland; (K.R.-O.); (M.M.); (P.P.); (M.B.)
| | - Krzysztof Rudkowski
- Department of Psychiatry, Pomeranian Medical University, 71-460 Szczecin, Poland; (K.S.); (K.W.); (K.R.); (J.K.-M.); (A.M.); (J.S.)
| | - Jolanta Kucharska-Mazur
- Department of Psychiatry, Pomeranian Medical University, 71-460 Szczecin, Poland; (K.S.); (K.W.); (K.R.); (J.K.-M.); (A.M.); (J.S.)
| | - Wojciech Andrusewicz
- Department of Neurosurgery, Pomeranian Medical University, 71-252 Szczecin, Poland; (W.A.); (L.S.)
| | - Błażej Misiak
- Department of Genetics, Wroclaw Medical University, 50-368 Wroclaw, Poland;
| | - Agata Szulc
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Health Sciences, Medical University in Warsaw, 05-802 Warsaw, Poland;
| | - Anna Michalczyk
- Department of Psychiatry, Pomeranian Medical University, 71-460 Szczecin, Poland; (K.S.); (K.W.); (K.R.); (J.K.-M.); (A.M.); (J.S.)
| | - Sylwia Michałowska
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Institute of Psychology, University of Szczecin, 71-004 Szczecin, Poland;
| | - Leszek Sagan
- Department of Neurosurgery, Pomeranian Medical University, 71-252 Szczecin, Poland; (W.A.); (L.S.)
| | - Jerzy Samochowiec
- Department of Psychiatry, Pomeranian Medical University, 71-460 Szczecin, Poland; (K.S.); (K.W.); (K.R.); (J.K.-M.); (A.M.); (J.S.)
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Yang M, Gao S, Zhang X. Cognitive deficits and white matter abnormalities in never-treated first-episode schizophrenia. Transl Psychiatry 2020; 10:368. [PMID: 33139736 PMCID: PMC7608674 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-020-01049-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2020] [Revised: 09/11/2020] [Accepted: 09/29/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Cognitive impairment is viewed as a core symptom of schizophrenia (SCZ), but its pathophysiological mechanism remains unclear. White matter (WM) disruption is considered to be a central abnormality that may contribute to cognitive impairment in SCZ patients. However, few studies have addressed the association between cognition and WM integrity in never-treated first-episode (NTFE) patients with SCZ. In this study, we used the MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB) to evaluate cognitive function in NTFE patients (n = 39) and healthy controls (n = 30), and associated it with whole-brain fractional anisotropy (FA) values obtained via voxel-based diffusion tensor imaging. We found that FA was lower in five brain areas of SCZ patients, including the cingulate gyrus, internal capsule, corpus callosum, cerebellum, and brainstem. Compared with the healthy control group, the MCCB's total score and 8 out of 10 subscores were significantly lower in NTFE patients (all p < 0.001). Moreover, in patients but not healthy controls, the performance in the Trail Making Test was negatively correlated with the FA value in the left cingulate. Our findings provide evidence that WM disconnection is involved in some cognitive impairment in the early course of SCZ.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mi Yang
- grid.54549.390000 0004 0369 4060The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Lab for NeuroInformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China ,grid.54549.390000 0004 0369 4060School of life Science and technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China ,The Fourth People’s Hospital of Chengdu, Chengdu, China
| | - Shan Gao
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Lab for NeuroInformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.
| | - Xiangyang Zhang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. .,Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
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Pudas J, Björnholm L, Nikkinen J, Veijola J. Cerebellar white matter in young adults with a familial risk for psychosis. Psychiatry Res Neuroimaging 2019; 287:41-48. [PMID: 30952031 DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2019.03.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2018] [Revised: 03/21/2019] [Accepted: 03/21/2019] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Juho Pudas
- Department of Psychiatry, Research Unit of Clinical Neuroscience, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland; Department of Psychiatry, Oulu University Hospital, Oulu, Finland.
| | - Lassi Björnholm
- Department of Psychiatry, Research Unit of Clinical Neuroscience, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland; Department of Psychiatry, Oulu University Hospital, Oulu, Finland; Medical Research Center Oulu, Oulu University Hospital and University of Oulu, Finland
| | - Juha Nikkinen
- Medical Research Center Oulu, Oulu University Hospital and University of Oulu, Finland; Department of Radiotherapy, Oulu University Hospital, Finland; Research Unit of Medical Imaging, Physics and Technology, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
| | - Juha Veijola
- Department of Psychiatry, Research Unit of Clinical Neuroscience, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland; Department of Psychiatry, Oulu University Hospital, Oulu, Finland; Medical Research Center Oulu, Oulu University Hospital and University of Oulu, Finland
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Waltzman D, Knowlton BJ, Cohen JR, Bookheimer SY, Bilder RM, Asarnow RF. DTI microstructural abnormalities in adolescent siblings of patients with childhood-onset schizophrenia. Psychiatry Res Neuroimaging 2016; 258:23-29. [PMID: 27829189 DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2016.10.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2016] [Revised: 10/25/2016] [Accepted: 10/28/2016] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Dana Waltzman
- War Related Illness and Injury Study Center, Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System (VAPAHCS), United States; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, United States.
| | | | - Jessica Rachel Cohen
- Department of Psychology and Neurosciences, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, United States
| | - Susan Yost Bookheimer
- David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California Los Angeles, United States
| | - Robert Martin Bilder
- David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California Los Angeles, United States
| | - Robert Franklin Asarnow
- Department of Psychology, University of California Los Angeles, United States; David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California Los Angeles, United States
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Diffusion-weighted imaging uncovers likely sources of processing-speed deficits in schizophrenia. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2016; 113:13504-13509. [PMID: 27834215 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1608246113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Schizophrenia, a devastating psychiatric illness with onset in the late teens to early 20s, is thought to involve disrupted brain connectivity. Functional and structural disconnections of cortical networks may underlie various cognitive deficits, including a substantial reduction in the speed of information processing in schizophrenia patients compared with controls. Myelinated white matter supports the speed of electrical signal transmission in the brain. To examine possible neuroanatomical sources of cognitive deficits, we used a comprehensive diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) protocol and characterized the white matter diffusion signals using diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) and permeability-diffusivity imaging (PDI) in patients (n = 74), their nonill siblings (n = 41), and healthy controls (n = 113). Diffusion parameters that showed significant patient-control differences also explained the patient-control differences in processing speed. This association was also found for the nonill siblings of the patients. The association was specific to processing-speed abnormality but not specific to working memory abnormality or psychiatric symptoms. Our findings show that advanced diffusion MRI in white matter may capture microstructural connectivity patterns and mechanisms that govern the association between a core neurocognitive measure-processing speed-and neurobiological deficits in schizophrenia that are detectable with in vivo brain scans. These non-Gaussian diffusion white matter metrics are promising surrogate imaging markers for modeling cognitive deficits and perhaps, guiding treatment development in schizophrenia.
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Sun Y, Zhang L, Ancharaz SS, Cheng S, Sun W, Wang H, Sun Y. Decreased fractional anisotropy values in two clusters of white matter in patients with schizotypal personality disorder: A DTI study. Behav Brain Res 2016; 310:68-75. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2016.05.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2015] [Revised: 03/16/2016] [Accepted: 05/09/2016] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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Diffusion Tensor MR Imaging Evaluation of Callosal Abnormalities in Schizophrenia: A Meta-Analysis. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0161406. [PMID: 27536773 PMCID: PMC4990171 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0161406] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2016] [Accepted: 08/04/2016] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Widespread white matter (WM) abnormalities have been found in patients with schizophrenia. Corpus callosum (CC) is the key area that connects the left and right brain hemispheres. However, the results of studies considering different subregions of the CC as regions of interest in patients with schizophrenia have been inconsistent. To obtain a more consistent evaluation of the diffusion characteristics change of the corpus callosum (CC) related to schizophrenia. A meta-analysis involving fractional anisotropy (FA) values in the CC of 729 schizophrenic subjects and 682 healthy controls from 22 studies was conducted. Overall FA values in the CC of the schizophrenic group were less than that of the healthy control group [weighted mean difference (WMD) = -0.021,P< 0.001]. So were the FA values in the genus region (WMD = -0.019, P< 0.001) and the splenium region (WMD = -0.020, P< 0.001) of the CC respectively. The FA reduction was also significant in subjects with chronic schizophrenia (WMD = -0.032, P< 0.001) and first-episode schizophrenia (WMD = -0.014, P = 0.001). In present study, we demonstrated an overall FA decrease in the CC of schizophrenic patients. In the two subgroup analyses of the genu vs splenium region and chronic vs first-episode schizophrenia, the decrease of all groups was significant. Further studies with more homogenous populations and standardized DTI protocols are needed to confirm and extend these findings.
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