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Katagiri N, Tagata H, Uchino T, Arai Y, Saito J, Kamiya K, Hori M, Mizuno M, Nemoto T. Investigating changes in the premotor cortex-derived frontal-striatal-thalamic subcircuit in attenuated psychosis syndrome. Brain Imaging Behav 2024:10.1007/s11682-024-00906-6. [PMID: 39196522 DOI: 10.1007/s11682-024-00906-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/10/2024] [Indexed: 08/29/2024]
Abstract
Frontal-striatal-thalamic circuit impairment is presumed to underlie schizophrenia. Individuals with attenuated psychosis syndrome (APS) show longitudinal volume reduction of the putamen in the striatum, which has a neural connection with the premotor cortex through the frontal-striatal-thalamic subcircuit. However, comprehensive investigations into the biological changes in the frontal-striatal-thalamic subcircuit originating from the premotor cortex in APS are lacking. We investigated differences in fractional anisotropy (FA) values between the striatum and premotor cortex (ST-PREM) and between the thalamus and premotor cortex (T-PREM) in individuals with APS and healthy controls, using a novel method TractSeg. Our study comprised 36 individuals with APS and 38 healthy controls. There was a significant difference between the control and APS groups in the right T-PREM (odds ratio = 1.76, p = 0.02). Other factors, such as age, sex, other values of FA, and antipsychotic medication, were not associated with differences between groups. However, while FA value reduction of ST-PREM and T-PREM in schizophrenia has been previously reported, in the present study on APS, the alteration of the FA value was limited to T-PREM in APS. This finding suggests that ST-PREM impairment is not predominant in APS but emerges in schizophrenia. Impairment of the neural network originating from the premotor cortex can lead to catatonia and aberrant mirror neuron networks that are presumed to provoke various psychotic symptoms of schizophrenia. Our findings highlight the potential role of changes in a segment of the frontal-thalamic pathway derived from the premotor cortex as a biological basis of APS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Naoyuki Katagiri
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Toho University School of Medicine, 6-11-1 Omori-nishi, Ota-ku, Tokyo, 143-8541, Japan.
| | - Hiromi Tagata
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Toho University School of Medicine, 6-11-1 Omori-nishi, Ota-ku, Tokyo, 143-8541, Japan
| | - Takashi Uchino
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Toho University School of Medicine, 6-11-1 Omori-nishi, Ota-ku, Tokyo, 143-8541, Japan
- Department of Psychiatry and Implementation Science, Toho University School of Medicine, 6-11-1 Omori-nishi, Ota-ku, Tokyo, 143-8541, Japan
| | - Yu Arai
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Toho University School of Medicine, 6-11-1 Omori-nishi, Ota-ku, Tokyo, 143-8541, Japan
| | - Junichi Saito
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Toho University School of Medicine, 6-11-1 Omori-nishi, Ota-ku, Tokyo, 143-8541, Japan
| | - Kouhei Kamiya
- Department of Radiology, Toho University School of Medicine, 6-11-1 Omori-nishi, Ota-ku, Tokyo, 143-8541, Japan
| | - Masaaki Hori
- Department of Radiology, Toho University School of Medicine, 6-11-1 Omori-nishi, Ota-ku, Tokyo, 143-8541, Japan
| | - Masafumi Mizuno
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Toho University School of Medicine, 6-11-1 Omori-nishi, Ota-ku, Tokyo, 143-8541, Japan
- Tokyo Metropolitan Matsuzawa Hospital, 2-1-1 Kamikitazawa, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, 156-0057, Japan
| | - Takahiro Nemoto
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Toho University School of Medicine, 6-11-1 Omori-nishi, Ota-ku, Tokyo, 143-8541, Japan
- Department of Psychiatry and Implementation Science, Toho University School of Medicine, 6-11-1 Omori-nishi, Ota-ku, Tokyo, 143-8541, Japan
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Yang CC, Totzek JF, Lepage M, Lavigne KM. Sex differences in cognition and structural covariance-based morphometric connectivity: evidence from 28,000+ UK Biobank participants. Cereb Cortex 2023; 33:10341-10354. [PMID: 37557917 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhad286] [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: 10/12/2022] [Revised: 07/06/2023] [Accepted: 07/08/2023] [Indexed: 08/11/2023] Open
Abstract
There is robust evidence for sex differences in domain-specific cognition, where females typically show an advantage for verbal memory, whereas males tend to perform better in spatial memory. Sex differences in brain connectivity are well documented and may provide insight into these differences. In this study, we examined sex differences in cognition and structural covariance, as an index of morphometric connectivity, of a large healthy sample (n = 28,821) from the UK Biobank. Using T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging scans and regional cortical thickness values, we applied jackknife bias estimation and graph theory to obtain subject-specific measures of structural covariance, hypothesizing that sex-related differences in brain network global efficiency, or overall covariance, would underlie cognitive differences. As predicted, females demonstrated better verbal memory and males showed a spatial memory advantage. Females also demonstrated faster processing speed, with no observed sex difference in executive functioning. Males showed higher global efficiency, as well as higher regional covariance (nodal strengths) in both hemispheres relative to females. Furthermore, higher global efficiency in males mediated sex differences in verbal memory and processing speed. Findings contribute to an improved understanding of how biological sex and differences in cognition are related to morphometric connectivity as derived from graph-theoretic methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Crystal C Yang
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montréal, QC H4H 1R3, Canada
| | - Jana F Totzek
- Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, 6211 LK, Netherlands
- Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montréal, QC H4H 1R3, Canada
- Douglas Research Centre, Montréal, QC, H4H 1R3, Canada
| | - Martin Lepage
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montréal, QC H4H 1R3, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montréal, QC H4H 1R3, Canada
- Douglas Research Centre, Montréal, QC, H4H 1R3, Canada
| | - Katie M Lavigne
- Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montréal, QC H4H 1R3, Canada
- Douglas Research Centre, Montréal, QC, H4H 1R3, Canada
- Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital, McGill University, Montréal, QC H4H 1R3, Canada
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Canal-Rivero M, Ruiz-Veguilla M, Labad J, Ayesa-Arriola R, Vázquez-Bourgon J, Mayoral-van Son J, Setién-Suero E, Ortiz-García de la Foz V, Crespo-Facorro B. Predictors of weight acquisition induced by antipsychotic treatment and its relationship with age in a sample of first episode non-affective psychosis patients: A three-year follow-up study. Schizophr Res 2020; 222:462-464. [PMID: 32600780 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2020.06.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2020] [Revised: 06/12/2020] [Accepted: 06/12/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- M Canal-Rivero
- Department of Psychiatry, Hospital Universitari Germans Trías I Pujol, Badalona, Spain.
| | - M Ruiz-Veguilla
- Hospital Universitario Virgen del Rocío, Sevilla, Spain; Departament of Psychiatry, Universidad de Sevilla, Instituto de Biomedicina de Sevilla (IBIS), Spain; CIBERSAM, Centro Investigación Biomédica en Red Salud Mental, Spain.
| | - J Labad
- CIBERSAM, Centro Investigación Biomédica en Red Salud Mental, Spain; Department of Psychiatry, Corporació Sanitària Universitaria Parc Taulí, I3PT, UAB, Sabadell, Spain
| | - R Ayesa-Arriola
- CIBERSAM, Centro Investigación Biomédica en Red Salud Mental, Spain; Department of Psychiatry, Marqués de Valdecilla University Hospital, IDIVAL, School of Medicine, University of Cantabria, Santander, Spain
| | - J Vázquez-Bourgon
- CIBERSAM, Centro Investigación Biomédica en Red Salud Mental, Spain; Department of Psychiatry, Marqués de Valdecilla University Hospital, IDIVAL, School of Medicine, University of Cantabria, Santander, Spain
| | - J Mayoral-van Son
- Hospital Universitario Virgen del Rocío, Sevilla, Spain; CIBERSAM, Centro Investigación Biomédica en Red Salud Mental, Spain
| | - E Setién-Suero
- CIBERSAM, Centro Investigación Biomédica en Red Salud Mental, Spain; Department of Psychiatry, Marqués de Valdecilla University Hospital, IDIVAL, School of Medicine, University of Cantabria, Santander, Spain
| | - V Ortiz-García de la Foz
- CIBERSAM, Centro Investigación Biomédica en Red Salud Mental, Spain; Department of Psychiatry, Marqués de Valdecilla University Hospital, IDIVAL, School of Medicine, University of Cantabria, Santander, Spain
| | - B Crespo-Facorro
- Hospital Universitario Virgen del Rocío, Sevilla, Spain; Departament of Psychiatry, Universidad de Sevilla, Instituto de Biomedicina de Sevilla (IBIS), Spain; CIBERSAM, Centro Investigación Biomédica en Red Salud Mental, Spain; Department of Psychiatry, Marqués de Valdecilla University Hospital, IDIVAL, School of Medicine, University of Cantabria, Santander, Spain
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Barth C, Lonning V, Gurholt TP, Andreassen OA, Myhre AM, Agartz I. Exploring white matter microstructure and the impact of antipsychotics in adolescent-onset psychosis. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0233684. [PMID: 32470000 PMCID: PMC7259775 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0233684] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2020] [Accepted: 05/10/2020] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
White matter abnormalities are well-established in adult patients with psychosis. Less is known about abnormalities in the rarely occurring adolescent early onset psychosis (EOP). In particular, whether antipsychotic medication might impact white matter microstructure is not known. Using 3T diffusion weighted imaging, we investigated differences in white matter microstructure and the impact of antipsychotic medication status in medicated (n = 11) and unmedicated (n = 11) EOP patients relative to healthy controls (n = 33), aged between 12–18 years. Using Tract-based Spatial Statistics, we calculate case-control differences in scalar diffusion measures, i.e. fractional anisotropy (FA), axial diffusion (AD) and radial diffusion (RD), and investigated their association with antipsychotic medication in patients. We found significantly lower FA in the left genu of the corpus callosum, the left anterior corona radiata (ACR) and the right superior longitudinal fasciculus in EOP patients relative to healthy controls. AD values were also lower in the left ACR, largely overlapping with the FA findings. Mean FA in the left ACR was significantly associated with antipsychotic medication status (Cohen's d = 1.37, 95% CI [0.01, 2.68], p = 0.008), showing higher FA values in medicated compared to unmedicated EOP patients. The present study is the first to link antipsychotic medication status to altered regional FA in the left ACR, a region hypothesized to contribute to the etiology of psychosis. Replications are warranted to draw firm conclusions about putatively enhancing effects of antipsychotic medication on white matter microstructure in adolescent-onset psychosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Barth
- NORMENT, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital & Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- * E-mail:
| | - Vera Lonning
- NORMENT, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital & Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Tiril Pedersen Gurholt
- NORMENT, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital & Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Ole A. Andreassen
- NORMENT, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital & Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Anne M. Myhre
- Child & Adolescent Mental Health Research Unit, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Ingrid Agartz
- NORMENT, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital & Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- Department of Psychiatric Research, Diakonhjemmet Hospital, Oslo, Norway
- Centre for Psychiatry Research, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet & Stockholm Health Care Services, Stockholm County Council, Stockholm, Sweden
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Micro- and Macrostructural White Matter Integrity in Never-Treated and Currently Unmedicated Patients With Schizophrenia and Effects of Short-Term Antipsychotic Treatment. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY: COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE AND NEUROIMAGING 2019; 4:462-471. [PMID: 30852126 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2019.01.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2018] [Revised: 12/17/2018] [Accepted: 01/08/2019] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Schizophrenia is associated with progressive white matter changes, but it is unclear whether antipsychotic medications contribute to these. Our objective was to characterize effects of short-term treatment with risperidone on white matter diffusion indices. METHODS We recruited 42 patients with schizophrenia (30 never treated and 12 currently untreated) and 42 matched healthy control subjects in this prospective case-control neuroimaging study. Patients received a 6-week trial of risperidone. Using diffusion tensor imaging, we assessed microstructural (fractional anisotropy, mean diffusivity, and radial diffusivity) and macrostructural (radial fiber trophy) white matter integrity deficits in unmedicated patients compared with control subjects and change in white matter integrity in patients before and after antipsychotic treatment (mean risperidone dose at end point was 3.73 ± 1.72 mg). RESULTS At baseline, fractional anisotropy was decreased in the left medial temporal white matter (cluster extent: 123 voxels; Montreal Neurological Institute peak coordinates: x = -51, y = -44, z = -7; α < .05), and mean diffusivity was increased in the fusiform/lingual gyrus white matter extending to the hippocampal part of the cingulum (cluster extent: 185 voxels; peak coordinates: x = -27, y = -49, z = 2; α < .04) in patients compared with control subjects. Radial diffusivity and macrostructure were not abnormal. None of the diffusion indices showed a significant change after 6 weeks of treatment with both voxelwise and whole-brain white matter analyses. CONCLUSIONS We demonstrate microstructural white matter integrity abnormalities in the absence of macrostructural impairment in unmedicated patients with primarily early-stage schizophrenia. In our data, we found no significant white matter changes after short-term treatment with risperidone.
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Prendergast DM, Karlsgodt KH, Fales CL, Ardekani BA, Szeszko PR. Corpus callosum shape and morphology in youth across the psychosis Spectrum. Schizophr Res 2018; 199:266-273. [PMID: 29656909 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2018.04.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2017] [Revised: 03/12/2018] [Accepted: 04/03/2018] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The corpus callosum is the largest white matter tract in the human brain connecting and coordinating homologous regions of the right and left hemispheres and has been strongly implicated in the pathogenesis of psychosis. We investigated corpus callosum morphology in a large community cohort of 917 individuals (aged 8-21), including 267 endorsing subsyndromal or threshold psychotic symptoms (207 on the psychosis spectrum and 60 with limited psychosis based on previously published criteria) and 650 non-psychotic volunteers. We used a highly reliable and previously published algorithm to automatically identify the midsagittal plane and to align the corpus callosum along the anterior and posterior commissures for segmentation, thereby eliminating these sources of error variance in dependent measures, which included perimeter, length, mean thickness and shape (circularity). The parcellation scheme divided the corpus callosum into 7 subregions that consisted of the rostrum, genu, rostral body, anterior midbody, posterior midbody, isthmus, and splenium. Both individuals endorsing psychotic symptoms and those with limited psychosis had significantly (p<.05) smaller area and lower thickness measures compared to healthy volunteers, but did not differ significantly from each other. Findings were relatively widespread indicating a relatively global effect not circumscribed to any particular corpus callosum subregion. These data are consistent with the hypothesis that corpus callosum abnormalities may be evident early in the course of illness and predate the onset of frank psychosis. Given that these measures can be easily obtained and are highly reliable they may assist in the identification of individuals at future risk for psychosis.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - K H Karlsgodt
- Department of Psychology, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - C L Fales
- Center for Psychiatric Neuroscience, The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, Manhasset, NY, USA
| | - B A Ardekani
- Center for Brain Imaging and Neuromodulation, The Nathan S. Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, USA
| | - P R Szeszko
- James J. Peters VA Medical Center, Mental Health Patient Care Center and Mental Illness Research Education Clinical Center (MIRECC), Bronx, NY, USA; Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Department of Psychiatry, New York, NY, USA
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7
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Goodrich-Hunsaker NJ, Abildskov TJ, Black G, Bigler ED, Cohen DM, Mihalov LK, Bangert BA, Taylor HG, Yeates KO. Age- and sex-related effects in children with mild traumatic brain injury on diffusion magnetic resonance imaging properties: A comparison of voxelwise and tractography methods. J Neurosci Res 2018; 96:626-641. [PMID: 28984377 PMCID: PMC5803411 DOI: 10.1002/jnr.24142] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2017] [Revised: 07/28/2017] [Accepted: 07/28/2017] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Although there are several techniques to analyze diffusion-weighted imaging, any technique must be sufficiently sensitive to detect clinical abnormalities. This is especially critical in disorders like mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), where pathology is likely to be subtle. mTBI represents a major public health concern, especially for youth under 15 years of age. However, the developmental period from birth to 18 years is also a time of tremendous brain changes. Therefore, it is important to establish the degree of age- and sex-related differences. Participants were children aged 8-15 years with mTBI or mild orthopedic injuries. Imaging was obtained within 10 days of injury. We performed tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS), deterministic tractography using Automated Fiber Quantification (AFQ), and probabilistic tractography using TRACULA (TRActs Constrained by UnderLying Anatomy) to evaluate whether any method provided improved sensitivity at identifying group, developmental, and/or sex-related differences. Although there were no group differences from any of the three analyses, many of the tracts, but not all, revealed increases of fractional anisotropy and decreases of axial, radial, and mean diffusivity with age. TBSS analyses resulted in age-related changes across all white matter tracts. AFQ and TRACULA revealed age-related changes within the corpus callosum, cingulum cingulate, corticospinal tract, inferior and superior longitudinal fasciculus, and uncinate fasciculus. The results are in many ways consistent across all three methods. However, results from the tractography methods provided improved sensitivity and better tract-specific results for identifying developmental and sex-related differences within the brain.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Garrett Black
- Ohio State University Fisher College of Business, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Erin D. Bigler
- Department of Psychology, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT
| | - Daniel M. Cohen
- Division of Emergency Medicine, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Columbus, OH
| | - Leslie K. Mihalov
- Division of Emergency Medicine, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Columbus, OH
| | - Barbara A. Bangert
- Department of Radiology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH
| | - H. Gerry Taylor
- Department of Pediatrics, Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH
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Connectivity-enhanced diffusion analysis reveals white matter density disruptions in first episode and chronic schizophrenia. NEUROIMAGE-CLINICAL 2018; 18:608-616. [PMID: 29845009 PMCID: PMC5964624 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2018.02.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2017] [Revised: 01/22/2018] [Accepted: 02/16/2018] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Reduced fractional anisotropy (FA) is a well-established correlate of schizophrenia, but it remains unclear whether these tensor-based differences are the result of axon damage and/or organizational changes and whether the changes are progressive in the adult course of illness. Diffusion MRI data were collected in 81 schizophrenia patients (54 first episode and 27 chronic) and 64 controls. Analysis of FA was combined with “fixel-based” analysis, the latter of which leverages connectivity and crossing-fiber information to assess both fiber bundle density and organizational complexity (i.e., presence and magnitude of off-axis diffusion signal). Compared with controls, patients with schizophrenia displayed clusters of significantly lower FA in the bilateral frontal lobes, right dorsal centrum semiovale, and the left anterior limb of the internal capsule. All FA-based group differences overlapped substantially with regions containing complex fiber architecture. FA within these clusters was positively correlated with principal axis fiber density, but inversely correlated with both secondary/tertiary axis fiber density and voxel-wise fiber complexity. Crossing fiber complexity had the strongest (inverse) association with FA (r = −0.82). When crossing fiber structure was modeled in the MRtrix fixel-based analysis pipeline, patients exhibited significantly lower fiber density compared to controls in the dorsal and posterior corpus callosum (central, postcentral, and forceps major). Findings of lower FA in patients with schizophrenia likely reflect two inversely related signals: reduced density of principal axis fiber tracts and increased off-axis diffusion sources. Whereas the former confirms at least some regions where myelin and or/axon count are lower in schizophrenia, the latter indicates that the FA signal from principal axis fiber coherence is broadly contaminated by macrostructural complexity, and therefore does not necessarily reflect microstructural group differences. These results underline the need to move beyond tensor-based models in favor of acquisition and analysis techniques that can help disambiguate different sources of white matter disruptions associated with schizophrenia. MRtrix3's fixel-based analysis pipeline performs crossing-fiber modeling and anatomically precise whole-brain white matter registration Axon bundle density and organizational complexity appear to underlie white matter alterations in first episode and chronic schizophrenia Results underline the need to incorporate techniques that can help disambiguate sources of white matter alterations
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Investigation of superior longitudinal fasciculus fiber complexity in recent onset psychosis. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2018; 81:114-121. [PMID: 29111405 PMCID: PMC5816971 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2017.10.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2017] [Revised: 10/12/2017] [Accepted: 10/27/2017] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Standard diffusion tensor imaging measures (e.g., fractional anisotropy; FA) are difficult to interpret in brain regions with crossing white-matter (WM) fibers. Diffusion spectrum imaging (DSI) can be used to resolve fiber crossing, but has been difficult to implement in studies of patients with psychosis given long scan times. METHODS We used four fold accelerated compressed sensing to accelerate DSI acquisition to investigate the superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF) in 27 (20M/7F) patients with recent onset psychosis and 23 (11M/12F) healthy volunteers. Dependent measures included the number of crossing fiber directions, multi directional anisotropy (MDA), which is a measure sensitive to the anisotropy of the underlying water diffusion in regions of crossing fibers, generalized FA (GFA) computed from the orientation distribution function, FA and tract volume. RESULTS Patients demonstrated a greater number of crossing WM fibers, lower MDA, GFA and FA in the left SLF compared to healthy volunteers. Patients also demonstrated a reversal in the normal (R>L) asymmetry of crossing fiber directions in the SLF and a lack of normal (L>R) asymmetry in MDA, GFA and FA compared to healthy volunteers. Lower GFA correlated significantly (p<0.05) with worse overall neuropsychological functioning; posthoc tests revealed significant effects with verbal functioning and processing speed. CONCLUSIONS Our findings provide the first in vivo evidence for abnormal crossing fibers within the SLF among individuals with psychosis and their functional correlates. A reversal in the normal pattern of WM asymmetry of crossing fibers in patients may be consistent with an aberrant neurodevelopmental process.
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Shahab S, Stefanik L, Foussias G, Lai MC, Anderson KK, Voineskos AN. Sex and Diffusion Tensor Imaging of White Matter in Schizophrenia: A Systematic Review Plus Meta-analysis of the Corpus Callosum. Schizophr Bull 2018; 44:203-221. [PMID: 28449132 PMCID: PMC5767963 DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbx049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Sex is considered an understudied variable in health research. Schizophrenia is a brain disorder with known sex differences in epidemiology and clinical presentation. We systematically reviewed the literature for sex-based differences of diffusion properties of white matter tracts in schizophrenia. We then conducted a meta-analysis examining sex-based differences in the genu and splenium of the corpus callosum in schizophrenia. Medline and Embase were searched to identify relevant papers. Studies fulfilling the following criteria were included: (1) included individuals with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, (2) included a control group of healthy individuals, (3) included both sexes in the patient and the control groups, (4) used diffusion tensor imaging, and (5) involved analyzing metrics of white matter microstructural integrity. Fractional anisotropy (FA) was used as the measure of interest in the meta-analysis. Of 730 studies reviewed, 75 met the inclusion criteria. Most showed no effect of sex, however, those that did found either that females have lower FA than males, or that the effect of disease in females is larger than that in males. The findings of the meta-analysis in the corpus callosum supported this result. There is a recognized need for studies on schizophrenia with a sufficient sample of female patients. Lack of power undermines the ability to detect sex-based differences. Understanding the sex-specific impact of illness on neural circuits may help inform development of new treatments, and improvement of existing interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saba Shahab
- Institute of Medical Science, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada,Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and Slaight Family Centre for Youth in Transition, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Laura Stefanik
- Institute of Medical Science, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada,Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and Slaight Family Centre for Youth in Transition, Toronto, ON, Canada,Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - George Foussias
- Institute of Medical Science, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada,Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and Slaight Family Centre for Youth in Transition, Toronto, ON, Canada,Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada,Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Meng-Chuan Lai
- Institute of Medical Science, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada,Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and Slaight Family Centre for Youth in Transition, Toronto, ON, Canada,Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada,Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada,Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK,Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital and College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Kelly K Anderson
- Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and Slaight Family Centre for Youth in Transition, Toronto, ON, Canada,Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics and Psychiatry, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
| | - Aristotle N Voineskos
- Institute of Medical Science, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada,Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and Slaight Family Centre for Youth in Transition, Toronto, ON, Canada,Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada,Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada,To whom correspondence should be addressed; 250 College Street, Toronto, ON M5T 1R8, Canada; tel: 416-535-8501 ext. 33977, fax: 416-260-4162, e-mail:
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