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Lin HY, Huang CC, Chou KH, Yang AC, Lo CYZ, Tsai SJ, Lin CP. Differential Patterns of Gyral and Sulcal Morphological Changes During Normal Aging Process. Front Aging Neurosci 2021; 13:625931. [PMID: 33613271 PMCID: PMC7886979 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2021.625931] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2020] [Accepted: 01/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The cerebral cortex is a highly convoluted structure with distinct morphologic features, namely the gyri and sulci, which are associated with the functional segregation or integration in the human brain. During the lifespan, the brain atrophy that is accompanied by cognitive decline is a well-accepted aging phenotype. However, the detailed patterns of cortical folding change during aging, especially the changing age-dependencies of gyri and sulci, which is essential to brain functioning, remain unclear. In this study, we investigated the morphology of the gyral and sulcal regions from pial and white matter surfaces using MR imaging data of 417 healthy participants across adulthood to old age (21–92 years). To elucidate the age-related changes in the cortical pattern, we fitted cortical thickness and intrinsic curvature of gyri and sulci using the quadratic model to evaluate their age-dependencies during normal aging. Our findings show that comparing to gyri, the sulcal thinning is the most prominent pattern during the aging process, and the gyrification of pial and white matter surfaces were also affected differently, which implies the vulnerability of functional segregation during aging. Taken together, we propose a morphological model of aging that may provide a framework for understanding the mechanisms underlying gray matter degeneration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hsin-Yu Lin
- Centre for Research and Development in Learning, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore.,Institute of Neuroscience, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Chu-Chung Huang
- Institute of Neuroscience, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan.,School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Shanghai, China
| | - Kun-Hsien Chou
- Institute of Neuroscience, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan.,Brain Research Center, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Albert C Yang
- Department of Psychiatry, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.,Division of Interdisciplinary Medicine and Biotechnology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Chun-Yi Zac Lo
- Institute of Science and Technology for Brain Inspired Intelligence, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Shih-Jen Tsai
- Department of Psychiatry, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.,School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Ching-Po Lin
- Institute of Neuroscience, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan.,Brain Research Center, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan
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Prefrontal mechanisms of comorbidity from a transdiagnostic and ontogenic perspective. Dev Psychopathol 2017; 28:1147-1175. [PMID: 27739395 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579416000742] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
Accumulating behavioral and genetic research suggests that most forms of psychopathology share common genetic and neural vulnerabilities and are manifestations of a relatively few core underlying processes. These findings support the view that comorbidity mostly arises, not from true co-occurrence of distinct disorders, but from the behavioral expression of shared vulnerability processes across the life span. The purpose of this review is to examine the role of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) in the shared vulnerability mechanisms underlying the clinical phenomena of comorbidity from a transdiagnostic and ontogenic perspective. In adopting this perspective, we suggest complex transactions between neurobiologically rooted vulnerabilities inherent in PFC circuitry and environmental factors (e.g., parenting, peers, stress, and substance use) across development converge on three key PFC-mediated processes: executive functioning, emotion regulation, and reward processing. We propose that individual differences and impairments in these PFC-mediated functions provide intermediate mechanisms for transdiagnostic symptoms and underlie behavioral tendencies that evoke and interact with environmental risk factors to further potentiate vulnerability.
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Goldstein MR, Peterson MJ, Sanguinetti JL, Tononi G, Ferrarelli F. Topographic deficits in alpha-range resting EEG activity and steady state visual evoked responses in schizophrenia. Schizophr Res 2015; 168:145-52. [PMID: 26159669 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2015.06.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2015] [Revised: 06/10/2015] [Accepted: 06/12/2015] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
Deficits in both resting alpha-range (8-12Hz) electroencephalogram (EEG) activity and steady state evoked potential (SSVEP) responses have been reported in schizophrenia. However, the topographic specificity of these effects, the relationship between resting EEG and SSVEP, as well as the impact of antipsychotic medication on these effects, have not been clearly delineated. The present study sought to address these questions with 256 channel high-density EEG recordings in a group of 13 schizophrenia patients, 13 healthy controls, and 10 non-schizophrenia patients with psychiatric diagnoses currently taking antipsychotic medication. At rest, the schizophrenia group demonstrated decreased alpha EEG power in frontal and occipital areas relative to healthy controls. With SSVEP stimulation centered in the alpha band (10Hz), but not with stimulation above (15Hz) or below (7Hz) this range, the occipital deficit in alpha power was partially reverted. However, the frontal deficit persisted and contributed to a significantly reduced topographic relationship between occipital and frontal alpha activity for resting EEG and 10Hz SSVEP alpha power in schizophrenia patients. No significant differences were observed between healthy and medicated controls or between medicated controls and schizophrenia. These findings suggest a potential intrinsic deficit in frontal eyes-closed EEG alpha oscillations in schizophrenia, whereby potent visual stimulation centered in that frequency range results in an increase in the occipital alpha power of these patients, which however does not extend to frontal regions. Future research to evaluate the cortical and subcortical mechanisms of these effects is warranted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael R Goldstein
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, United States; Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
| | - Michael J Peterson
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, United States
| | | | - Giulio Tononi
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, United States
| | - Fabio Ferrarelli
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, United States.
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4
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Selemon LD, Ceritoglu C, Ratnanather JT, Wang L, Harms MP, Aldridge K, Begović A, Csernansky JG, Miller MI, Rakic P. Distinct abnormalities of the primate prefrontal cortex caused by ionizing radiation in early or midgestation. J Comp Neurol 2013; 521:1040-53. [PMID: 22911497 DOI: 10.1002/cne.23217] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2012] [Revised: 05/31/2012] [Accepted: 08/16/2012] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Prenatal exposure of the brain to environmental insult causes different neurological symptoms and behavioral outcomes depending on the time of exposure. To examine the cellular bases for these differences, we exposed rhesus macaque fetuses to x-rays during early gestation (embryonic day [E]30-E42), i.e., before the onset of corticogenesis, or in midgestation (E70-E81), when superficial cortical layers are generated. Animals were delivered at term (~E165), and the size and cellular composition of prefrontal association cortex (area 46) examined in adults using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and stereologic analysis. Both early and midgestational radiation exposure diminished the surface area and volume of area 46. However, early exposure spared cortical thickness and did not alter laminar composition, and due to higher cell density, neuron number was within the normal range. In contrast, exposure to x-rays at midgestation reduced cortical thickness, mainly due to elimination of neurons destined for the superficial layers. A cell-sparse gap, observed within layer III, was not filled by the later-generated neurons destined for layer II, indicating that there is no subsequent replacement of the lost neurons. The distinct areal and laminar pathology consequent to temporally segregated irradiation is consistent with basic postulates of the radial unit hypothesis of cortical development. In addition, we show that an environmental disturbance inflicted in early gestation can induce subtle cytoarchitectonic alterations without loss of neurons, such as those observed in schizophrenia, whereas midgestational exposure causes selective elimination of neurons and cortical thinning as observed in some forms of mental retardation and fetal alcohol syndrome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lynn D Selemon
- Department of Neurobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 06520-8001, USA.
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Ramdani C, Carbonnell L, Rabat A, Meckler C, Burle B, Hasbroucq T, Vidal F. Sleep deprivation affects the sensitivity of proactive and reactive action monitoring: a behavioural and ERP analysis. Biol Psychol 2013; 93:237-45. [PMID: 23428372 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2013.02.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2012] [Revised: 12/03/2012] [Accepted: 02/04/2013] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
We studied the impact of sleep deprivation on action monitoring. Each participant performed a Simon task after a normal night of sleep and after 26 h of awakening. Reaction time (RT) distributions were analyzed and the sensitivity of the error negativity (Ne/Ne like) to response correctness was examined. Results showed that (1) the Simon effect persisted for the longest RTs only after sleep deprivation and (2) the sensitivity of the Ne/Ne like to correctness decreased after sleep deprivation, especially on incongruent trials. This suggests that after sleep deprivation (1) the ability to inhibit prepotent response tendencies is impaired and (2) the sensitivity of a response monitoring system as revealed by the error negativity is less sensitive to performance. In conclusion, action monitoring was affected by sleep deprivation as revealed by distributional analyses and the sensitivity of the Ne/Ne like to performance, which may be attributed to the fragility of prefrontal structures to sleep deprivation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Céline Ramdani
- Institut de Recherche Biomédicale des Armées, Toulon, France.
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Williams MR, Chaudhry R, Perera S, Pearce RKB, Hirsch SR, Ansorge O, Thom M, Maier M. Changes in cortical thickness in the frontal lobes in schizophrenia are a result of thinning of pyramidal cell layers. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 2013; 263:25-39. [PMID: 22610045 DOI: 10.1007/s00406-012-0325-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2011] [Accepted: 04/30/2012] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Decreased cortical thickness and reduced activity as measured by fMRI in the grey matter of the subgenual cingulate cortex have been reported in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, and cortical grey matter loss has been reliably reported in the frontal and temporal lobes in schizophrenia. The aim of this study was to examine the thickness of each of the six cortical layers in the subgenual cingulate cortex, five frontal lobe and four temporal lobe gyri. We examined two separate cohorts. Cohort 1 examines the subgenual cingulate cortex (SCC) in schizophrenia (n = 10), bipolar disorder (n = 15) and major depressive disorder (n = 20) against control subjects (n = 19). Cohort two examines frontal and temporal gyri in schizophrenia (n = 16), major depressive disorder (n = 6) against matched controls (n = 32). The cohorts were selected with identical clinical criteria, but underwent different tissue processing to contrast the effect of chemical treatment on tissue shrinkage. Measurements of layer I-VI thickness were taken from cresyl-violet- and haematoxylin-stained sections in cohort one and from cresyl-violet- and H&E-stained sections in cohort two. SCC cortical thickness decreased in male subjects with bipolar disorder (p = 0.048), and male schizophrenia cases showed a specific decrease in the absolute thickness of layer V (p = 0.003). Compared to controls, the relative thickness of layer V in the crown of the SCC decreased in schizophrenia (p < 0.001). A significant decrease in total cortical thickness was observed across the frontal lobe in schizophrenia (p < 0.0001), with specific pyramidal layer thinning in layers III (p = 0.0001) and V (p = 0.005). There was no effect of lateralization. No changes were noted in temporal lobe cortical thickness. This study demonstrates diminished pyramidal layer thickness resulting in decreased frontal lobe thickness in schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- M R Williams
- Neuropathology Unit, Department of Experimental Medicine, Imperial College London, Charing Cross Hospital, UK.
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7
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Exploring the dynamics of P300 amplitude in patients with schizophrenia. Int J Psychophysiol 2011; 81:159-68. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2011.06.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2010] [Revised: 05/30/2011] [Accepted: 06/01/2011] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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8
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Xu H, Li XM. White matter abnormalities and animal models examining a putative role of altered white matter in schizophrenia. SCHIZOPHRENIA RESEARCH AND TREATMENT 2011; 2011:826976. [PMID: 22937274 PMCID: PMC3420616 DOI: 10.1155/2011/826976] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2011] [Accepted: 06/21/2011] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Schizophrenia is a severe mental disorder affecting about 1% of the population worldwide. Although the dopamine (DA) hypothesis is still keeping a dominant position in schizophrenia research, new advances have been emerging in recent years, which suggest the implication of white matter abnormalities in schizophrenia. In this paper, we will briefly review some of recent human studies showing white matter abnormalities in schizophrenic brains and altered oligodendrocyte-(OL-) and myelin-related genes in patients with schizophrenia and will consider abnormal behaviors reported in patients with white matter diseases. Following these, we will selectively introduce some animal models examining a putative role of white matter abnormalities in schizophrenia. The emphasis will be put on the cuprizone (CPZ) model. CPZ-fed mice show demyelination and OLs loss, display schizophrenia-related behaviors, and have higher DA levels in the prefrontal cortex. These features suggest that the CPZ model is a novel animal model of schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haiyun Xu
- Department of Anatomy, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Carbondale, IL 62901, USA
| | - Xin-Min Li
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada R3T 2N2
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9
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Meckler C, Allain S, Carbonnell L, Hasbroucq T, Burle B, Vidal F. Executive control and response expectancy: A Laplacian ERP study. Psychophysiology 2011; 48:303-11. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-8986.2010.01077.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
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Tanskanen P, Haapea M, Veijola J, Miettunen J, Järvelin MR, Pyhtinen J, Jones PB, Isohanni M. Volumes of brain, grey and white matter and cerebrospinal fluid in schizophrenia in the Northern Finland 1966 Birth Cohort: an epidemiological approach to analysis. Psychiatry Res 2009; 174:116-20. [PMID: 19853416 DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2009.04.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2007] [Revised: 04/23/2009] [Accepted: 04/24/2009] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies in schizophrenia have seldom involved a general population birth cohort or other epidemiological samples. We studied the Northern Finland 1966 Birth Cohort and identified all people with psychotic disorders. Along with an unaffected age-matched control sample (n = 100) from the cohort, 54 subjects with schizophrenia underwent MRI brain scan at age 33-35 years from which we defined volumes of whole brain, grey and white matter and intracranial cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Whole brain, grey and white matter volumes were 2-3% smaller in the schizophrenia subjects, who showed a 7% increase in CSF volume. These volume changes were independent of the effects of gender, family history of psychosis, perinatal risks or age at onset of illness. Moreover, there was no evidence that the effects were due to particular subgroups of cases having very low or high values. Rather, there were linear trends in the associations between whole brain and grey matter volume measures and schizophrenia. Our study replicates the previous findings of brain volume differences in schizophrenia on a general population level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Päivikki Tanskanen
- University of Oulu, Department of Diagnostic Radiology, P.O. Box 50, FIN-90029 Oulu, Finland.
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11
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Mean diffusivity: a biomarker for CSF-related disease and genetic liability effects in schizophrenia. Psychiatry Res 2009; 171:20-32. [PMID: 19081707 PMCID: PMC2665171 DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2008.03.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2007] [Revised: 03/19/2008] [Accepted: 03/19/2008] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Mean diffusivity (MD), the rotationally invariant magnitude of water diffusion that is greater in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and smaller in organized brain tissue, has been suggested to reflect schizophrenia-associated cortical atrophy. Regional changes, associations with CSF, and the effects of genetic predisposition towards schizophrenia, however, remain uncertain. Six-direction diffusion tensor imaging DTI and high-resolution structural images were obtained from 26 schizophrenia patients, 36 unaffected first-degree patient relatives, 20 control subjects and 32 control relatives (N=114). Registration procedures aligned diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data across imaging modalities. MD was averaged within lobar regions and the cingulate and superior temporal gyri. CSF volume and MD were highly correlated. Significant bilateral temporal, and superior temporal MD increases were observed in schizophrenia compared with unrelated control probands. First-degree relatives of schizophrenia probands showed larger MD measures compared with controls within bilateral superior temporal regions with CSF volume correction. Superior temporal lobe brain tissue deficits and proximal CSF enlargements are widely documented in schizophrenia. Larger MD indices in patients and their relatives may thus reflect similar pathophysiological mechanisms. However, persistence of regional MD effects after controlling for CSF volume, suggests that MD is a sensitive biological marker of disease and genetic liability, characterizing at least partially distinct aspects of brain structural integrity.
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Hains AB, Arnsten AFT. Molecular mechanisms of stress-induced prefrontal cortical impairment: implications for mental illness. Learn Mem 2008; 15:551-64. [PMID: 18685145 DOI: 10.1101/lm.921708] [Citation(s) in RCA: 96] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
The symptoms of mental illness often involve weakened regulation of thought, emotion, and behavior by the prefrontal cortex. Exposure to stress exacerbates symptoms of mental illness and causes marked prefrontal cortical dysfunction. Studies in animals have revealed the intracellular signaling pathways activated by stress exposure that induce profound prefrontal cortical impairment: Excessive dopamine stimulation of D1 receptors impairs prefrontal function via cAMP intracellular signaling, leading to disconnection of prefrontal networks, while excessive norepinephrine stimulation of alpha1 receptors impairs prefrontal function via phosphatidylinositol-protein kinase C intracellular signaling. Genetic studies indicate that the genes disrupted in serious mental illness (bipolar disorder and schizophrenia) often encode for the intracellular proteins that serve as brakes on the intracellular stress pathways. For example, disrupted in schizophrenia 1 (DISC1) normally regulates cAMP levels, while regulator of G protein signaling 4 (RGS4) and diacylglycerol kinase (DGKH)-the molecule most associated with bipolar disorder- normally serve to inhibit phosphatidylinositol-protein kinase C intracellular signaling. Patients with mutations resulting in loss of adequate function of these genes likely have weaker endogenous regulation of these stress pathways. This may account for the vulnerability to stress and the severe loss of PFC regulation of behavior, thought, and affect in these illnesses. This review highlights the signaling pathways onto which genetic vulnerability and stress converge to impair PFC function and induce debilitating symptoms such as thought disorder, disinhibition, and impaired working memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Avis B Hains
- Department of Neurobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 06511, USA
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Bennett A O MR. Dual constraints on synapse formation and regression in schizophrenia: neuregulin, neuroligin, dysbindin, DISC1, MuSK and agrin. Aust N Z J Psychiatry 2008; 42:662-77. [PMID: 18622774 DOI: 10.1080/00048670802203467] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
During adolescence there is a loss of approximately 30% of the synapses formed in the cortex during childhood. Comprehensive studies of the visual cortex show that this loss of synapses does not occur as a consequence of less appropriate projections being eliminated in favour of more appropriate ones. Rather it seems that synapses with low efficacy for transmission are eliminated in favour of those with higher efficacy. The loss of low-efficacy synapses is known, on theoretical grounds, to enhance the function of neural networks, but large synapse losses lead to failure of network function. In the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPC) of those suffering from schizophrenia the number of synapses is relatively very low, approximately 60% lower than that observed in normal childhood. It is not known if this is due to an additional loss over that during normal adolescence or whether it results from a failure to form a normal complement of synapses during childhood. The first study of synapse loss in the mammalian nervous system was made on the neuromuscular junction at Sydney University in 1974. Since then this junction has provided principal insights into the molecular basis of synapse formation and regression, so providing a paradigm for investigations of these phenomena in the DLPC. For example the molecules muscle-specific receptor tyrosine kinase (MuSK), agrin and neuregulin have been identified and their critical roles in the formation and maintenance of synapses elucidated. Loss of function of MuSK or agrin leads to failure of neuromuscular synapse formation as well as a loss of approximately 30% of excitatory synapses in the cortex. Similar synapse loss occurs on failure of neuregulin in vitro and of neuroligin in vivo. It is suggested that three important questions need to be answered: first, over what development period are the synapse numbers in DLPC of subjects with schizophrenia lower than normal; second, what are the relative importance of MuSK/agrin, neuregulin/ErB and neurexin/neuroligin in synapse formation and regression in the DLPC; and third, to what extent have these molecules gone awry in schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maxwell R Bennett A O
- Brain and Mind Research Institute, University of Sydney, 100 Mallett Street, Camperdown, NSW 2006, Australia.
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Effects of methamphetamine on single unit activity in rat medial prefrontal cortex in vivo. Neural Plast 2008; 2007:29821. [PMID: 18288241 PMCID: PMC2220029 DOI: 10.1155/2007/29821] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2007] [Revised: 06/14/2007] [Accepted: 06/14/2007] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
To investigate how neuronal activity in the prefrontal cortex changes in an animal model of schizophrenia, we recorded single unit activity in the medial prefrontal cortex of urethane-anesthetized and awake rats following methamphetamine (MA) administration. Systemic MA injection (4 mg/kg, IP) induced inconsistent changes, that is, both enhancement and reduction, in unit discharge rate, with a subset of neurons transiently (<30 min) elevating their activities. The direction of firing rate change was poorly predicted by the mean firing rate or the degree of burst firing during the baseline period. Also, simultaneously recorded units showed opposite directions of firing rate change, indicating that recording location is a poor predictor of the direction of firing rate change. These results raise the possibility that systemic MA injection induces random bidirectional changes in prefrontal cortical unit activity, which may underlie some of MA-induced psychotic symptoms.
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O’Connor J, Hemby S. Elevated GRIA1 mRNA expression in Layer II/III and V pyramidal cells of the DLPFC in schizophrenia. Schizophr Res 2007; 97:277-88. [PMID: 17942280 PMCID: PMC3255089 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2007.09.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2007] [Revised: 08/29/2007] [Accepted: 09/04/2007] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
The functional integrity of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) is altered in schizophrenia leading to profound deficits in working memory and cognition. Growing evidence indicates that dysregulation of glutamate signaling may be a significant contributor to the pathophysiology mediating these effects; however, the contribution of NMDA and AMPA receptors in the mediation of this deficit remains unclear. The equivocality of data regarding ionotropic glutamate receptor alterations of subunit expression in the DLPFC of schizophrenics is likely reflective of subtle alterations in the cellular and molecular composition of specific neuronal populations within the region. Given previous evidence of Layer II/III and V pyramidal cell alterations in schizophrenia and the significant influence of subunit composition on NMDA and AMPA receptor function, laser capture microdissection combined with quantitative PCR was used to examine the expression of AMPA (GRIA1-4) and NMDA (GRIN1, 2A and 2B) subunit mRNA levels in Layer II/III and Layer V pyramidal cells in the DLPFC. Comparisons were made between individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder and controls (n=15/group). All subunits were expressed at detectable levels in both cell populations for all diseases as well as for the control group. Interestingly, GRIA1 mRNA was significantly increased in both cell types in the schizophrenia group compare to controls, while similar trends were observed in major depressive disorder (Layers II/III and V) and bipolar disorder (Layer V). These data suggest that increased GRIA1 subunit expression may contribute to schizophrenia pathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- J.A. O’Connor
- Molecular and Systems Pharmacology Graduate Program, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, United States
| | - S.E. Hemby
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, United States
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, United States
- Corresponding author. Medical Center Boulevard, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27157, United States. Tel.: +1 336 716 8620; fax: +1 336 716 8501.
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Kleinlogel H, Strik W, Begré S. Increased NoGo-anteriorisation in first-episode schizophrenia patients during Continuous Performance Test. Clin Neurophysiol 2007; 118:2683-91. [PMID: 17910935 DOI: 10.1016/j.clinph.2007.08.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2007] [Revised: 07/13/2007] [Accepted: 08/18/2007] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE NoGo-stimuli during a Continuous Performance Test (CPT) activate prefrontal brain structures such as the anterior cingulate gyrus and lead to an anteriorisation of the positive electrical field of the NoGo-P300 relative to the Go-P300, so-called NoGo-anteriorisation (NGA). NGA during CPT is regarded as a neurophysiological standard index for cognitive response control. While it is known that patients with chronic schizophrenia exhibit a significant reduction in NGA, it is unclear whether this also occurs in patients undergoing their first-episode. Thus, the aim of the present study was to determine NGA in a group of patients with first-episode schizophrenia by utilizing a CPT paradigm. METHODS Eighteen patients with first-episode schizophrenia and 18 matched healthy subjects were investigated electrophysiologically during a cued CPT, and the parameters of the Go- and NoGo-P300 were determined using microstate analysis. Low resolution tomography analysis (LORETA) was used for source determination. RESULTS Due to a more posterior Go- and a more anterior NoGo-centroid, NGA was greater in patients than in healthy controls. LORETA indicated the same sources for both groups after Go-stimuli, but a more anterior source in patients after NoGo-stimuli. In patients P300-amplitude responses to both Go- and NoGo-stimuli were decreased, and P300-latency to NoGo-stimuli was increased. After the Go-stimuli false reactions and reaction times were increased in patients. CONCLUSIONS Attention was reduced in patients with first-episode schizophrenia, as indicated by more false reactions, prolongation of reaction time, P300-latencies and by a decrease in P300-amplitude. Significantly however, the NGA and prefrontal LORETA-sources indicate intact prefrontal brain structures in first-episode schizophrenia patients. Previously described changes in this indicator of prefrontal function may be related to a progressive decay in chronic schizophrenia. SIGNIFICANCE The results support the idea of a possible new biological marker of first episode psychosis, which may be a useful parameter for the longitudinal measurement of changing prefrontal brain function in a single schizophrenia patient.
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Affiliation(s)
- H Kleinlogel
- Department of Psychiatric Neurophysiology, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Switzerland
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17
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Mason GF, Krystal JH. MR spectroscopy: its potential role for drug development for the treatment of psychiatric diseases. NMR IN BIOMEDICINE 2006; 19:690-701. [PMID: 16986118 DOI: 10.1002/nbm.1080] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) is likely in the near future to play a key role in the process of drug discovery and evaluation. As the pharmaceutical industry seeks biochemical markers of drug delivery, efficacy and toxicity, this non-invasive technique offers numerous ways to study adults and children repeatedly and without ionizing radiation. In this article, we survey an array of the information that MRS offers about neurochemistry in general and psychiatric disorders and their treatment in particular. We also present growing evidence of glial abnormalities in neuropsychiatric disorders and discuss what MRS is contributing to that line of investigation. The third major direction of this article is the discussion of where MRS techniques are headed and how those new techniques can contribute to studies of mechanisms of psychiatric disease and drug discovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Graeme F Mason
- Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Yale University, School of Medicine, 300 Cedar St, New Haven, CT 06520-8043, USA.
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Ruchsow M, Walter H, Buchheim A, Martius P, Spitzer M, Kächele H, Grön G, Kiefer M. Electrophysiological correlates of error processing in borderline personality disorder. Biol Psychol 2006; 72:133-40. [PMID: 16288950 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2005.08.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2004] [Accepted: 08/05/2005] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The electrophysiological correlates of error processing were investigated in patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) using event-related potentials (ERP). Twelve patients with BPD and 12 healthy controls were additionally rated with the Barratt impulsiveness scale (BIS-10). Participants performed a Go/Nogo task while a 64 channel EEG was recorded. Three ERP components were of special interest: error-related negativity (ERN)/error negativity (Ne), early error positivity (early Pe) reflecting automatic error processing, and the late Pe component which is thought to mirror the awareness of erroneous responses. We found smaller amplitudes of the ERN/Ne in patients with BPD compared to controls. Moreover, significant correlations with the BIS-10 non-planning sub-score could be demonstrated for both the entire group and the patient group. No between-group differences were observed for the early and late Pe components. ERP measures appear to be a suitable tool to study clinical time courses in BPD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Ruchsow
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Ulm, Leimgrubenweg 12, D-89075 Ulm, Germany.
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19
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Narr KL, Bilder RM, Woods RP, Thompson PM, Szeszko P, Robinson D, Ballmaier M, Messenger B, Wang Y, Toga AW. Regional specificity of cerebrospinal fluid abnormalities in first episode schizophrenia. Psychiatry Res 2006; 146:21-33. [PMID: 16386409 DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2005.10.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2005] [Revised: 10/05/2005] [Accepted: 10/15/2005] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
The timing and regional specificity of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) enlargements have not been well described in schizophrenia. High-resolution magnetic resonance images and computational image analysis methods were used to localize cross-sectional changes in lateral ventricle and sulcal and subarachnoid CSF in first episode schizophrenia patients (51 males/21 females) and healthy subjects (37 males/41 females). Volumes were obtained for each lateral ventricle horn and regional differences identified by comparing the distances from the ventricular surfaces to the central core at anatomically matched locations. Extra-cortical CSF differences were compared by measuring the proportion of CSF voxels sampled from spatially homologous cortical surface points. Significant extra-cortical CSF enlargements were observed in first episode patients, where regional differences surrounded the temporal, anterior frontal and parietal cortices. Volume and ventricular surface analyses failed to show significant effects of diagnosis. However, interactions indicated dorsal superior horn expansions in female patients compared with same-sex controls. Since ventricular enlargements are widely reported in chronic patients, our observations at first episode suggest ventricular enlargement may progress after disease onset with early changes occurring around the dorsal superior horn. In contrast, sulcal and subarachnoid CSF increases may be manifest near or before the first episode but after brain development is complete, reflecting pronounced reductions in proximal brain tissue.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katherine L Narr
- Laboratory of NeuroImaging, Division of Brain Mapping, UCLA School of Medicine, 710 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1769, USA
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20
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Molina V, Sanz J, Sarramea F, Misiego JM, Benito C, Palomo T. Association between excessive frontal cerebrospinal fluid and illness duration in males but not in females with schizophrenia. Eur Psychiatry 2006; 20:332-8. [PMID: 16018926 DOI: 10.1016/j.eurpsy.2004.11.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2004] [Revised: 11/18/2004] [Accepted: 11/24/2004] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Excessive cortical cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) has been acknowledged as a possible marker of a gray matter loss. This excess in schizophrenia is found predominantly in the prefrontal and temporal regions. We hypothesized that the poorer global outcome and treatment response in males with schizophrenia are related to a greater cortical volume loss as compared to females. SUBJECTS AND METHODS In order to test this hypothesis we have used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to study the cortical (prefrontal, temporal, and hemispheric) CSF values in a group of 85 patients with schizophrenia, of whom 56 were males and 29, females. We calculated the residual values of CSF in the patients based on the data pertaining to 45 control subjects and linear regression, from which the normal effects of age and intracranial volume were discounted. These residual scores constitute a quantitative measurement of the excess of CSF due to the disease. RESULTS Males, but not females, presented a trend-level significant excess of left prefrontal CSF. The prefrontal and temporal residual values were significantly associated with illness duration in males, but not in females. DISCUSSION These results conform to the worse outcome and the higher severity of structural abnormalities generally found in schizophrenia in male subjects. CONCLUSION Our data support the hypothesis of accelerated prefrontal cortical loss in males, but not in females with schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vicente Molina
- Department of Psychiatry, Hospital Clínico Universitario, Paseo de San Vicente, 58-182, 37007 Salamanca, Spain.
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21
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Suzuki M, Nohara S, Hagino H, Takahashi T, Kawasaki Y, Yamashita I, Watanabe N, Seto H, Kurachi M. Prefrontal abnormalities in patients with simple schizophrenia: structural and functional brain-imaging studies in five cases. Psychiatry Res 2005; 140:157-71. [PMID: 16243494 DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2005.06.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2004] [Revised: 03/24/2005] [Accepted: 06/01/2005] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Simple schizophrenia is an uncommon disorder with unknown pathophysiology, and its position in the current diagnostic system is ambiguous. Brain-imaging studies may help to elucidate its pathophysiology. Five patients fulfilling both ICD-10 criteria for simple schizophrenia and DSM-IV criteria for simple deteriorative disorder underwent computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and single photon emission computed tomography. These scans were assessed individually by visual inspection as well as automatically by comparison with scans in normal controls or other schizophrenia subtype patients using voxel-based image analyses. Three of the five simple schizophrenia patients had findings of atrophy and reduced cerebral perfusion in the frontal areas. Voxel-based analyses also showed prefrontal grey matter deficits and hypoperfusion in simple schizophrenia patients compared with the controls. Although this study is limited by the small number of patients with simple schizophrenia, the results suggest that simple schizophrenia, or at least this subpopulation, may have rather homogeneous morphological and functional deficits in the prefrontal cortex. It is also suggested that simple schizophrenia may occupy an extreme position of the schizophrenic continuum where the prefrontal deficits and negative symptoms are most purely manifested.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michio Suzuki
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Toyama Medical and Pharmaceutical University, 2630 Sugitani, Toyama 930-0194, Japan.
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Selemon LD, Wang L, Nebel MB, Csernansky JG, Goldman-Rakic PS, Rakic P. Direct and indirect effects of fetal irradiation on cortical gray and white matter volume in the macaque. Biol Psychiatry 2005; 57:83-90. [PMID: 15607304 PMCID: PMC4465560 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2004.10.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2004] [Revised: 08/30/2004] [Accepted: 10/05/2004] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Schizophrenia is associated with reductions in thalamic neuronal number and cortical gray matter volume. Exposure of nonhuman primates to x-irradiation in early gestation has previously been shown to decrease thalamic volume and neuronal number. Here we examine whether early gestational irradiation also results in cortical volume reduction. METHODS High-resolution, T1-weighted magnetic resonance scans were collected in adult monkeys 1) exposed to irradiation during the early gestational period (E33-E42) corresponding to thalamic neurogenesis, 2) irradiated in midgestation (E70-81) during neocortical neurogenesis, and 3) not exposed to irradiation. Cortical gray matter and white matter volumes were derived via manual segmentation; frontal and nonfrontal volumes were distinguished via sulcal landmarks. RESULTS Monkeys irradiated in early gestation exhibited a trend reduction in nonfrontal gray matter volume (17%) and significant reductions in white matter volume in frontal (26%) and nonfrontal (36%) lobes. Monkeys irradiated in midgestation had smaller gray (frontal: 28%; nonfrontal: 22%) and white matter (frontal: 29%; nonfrontal: 38%) volumes. CONCLUSIONS The cortical deficits observed in midgestationally irradiated monkeys are consistent with a reduction in cortical neuronal number. Cortical volume reductions following early gestational irradiation may be secondary to reduced thalamic neuronal number and therefore model the thalamocortical pathology of schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lynn D Selemon
- Department of Neurobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, PO Box 208001, New Haven, CT 06520-8001, USA.
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23
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Rowe DL, Robinson PA, Rennie CJ, Harris AW, Felmingham KL, Lazzaro IL, Gordon E. NEUROPHYSIOLOGICALLY-BASED MEAN-FIELD MODELLING OF TONIC CORTICAL ACTIVITY IN POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD), SCHIZOPHRENIA, FIRST EPISODE SCHIZOPHRENIA AND ATTENTION DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER (ADHD). J Integr Neurosci 2004; 3:453-87. [PMID: 15657979 DOI: 10.1142/s0219635204000592] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2004] [Revised: 08/18/2004] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
A recently developed quantitative model of cortical activity is used that permits data comparison with experiment using a quantitative and standardized means. The model incorporates properties of neurophysiology including axonal transmission delays, synaptodendritic rates, range-dependent connectivities, excitatory and inhibitory neural populations, and intrathalamic, intracortical, corticocortical and corticothalamic pathways. This study tests the ability of the model to determine unique physiological properties in a number of different data sets varying in mean age and pathology. The model is used to fit individual electroencephalographic (EEG) spectra from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), schizophrenia, first episode schizophrenia (FESz), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and their age/sex matched controls. The results demonstrate that the model is able to distinguish each group in terms of a unique cluster of abnormal parameter deviations. The abnormal physiology inferred from these parameters is also consistent with known theoretical and experimental findings from each disorder. The model is also found to be sensitive to the effects of medication in the schizophrenia and FESz group, further supporting the validity of the model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Donald L Rowe
- School of Physics, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
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24
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Gourion D, Gourevitch R, Leprovost JB, Olié H lôo JP, Krebs MO. [Neurodevelopmental hypothesis in schizophrenia]. Encephale 2004; 30:109-18. [PMID: 15107713 DOI: 10.1016/s0013-7006(04)95421-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
The hypothesis for a neurodevelopmental basis to the underlying physiopathological disorder leading to schizophrenia has been proposed by many investigators for more than two decades. This hypothesis is supported by -several lines of evidence. Pregnancy and delivery complications, particularly those with known or presumed impact on fetal neurologic development, result in increased risk for psychotic disorders. Other possible etiologic candidates include viral infections. Minor physical anomalies, manifesting as slight anatomical defects of the head, hair, eyes, mouth, hands and feet, as dematoglyphic fluctuating asymmetries, are due to some injury occurring during the first or second trimester of fetal life, and are more common among patients with schizophrenia and in their unaffected siblings than in the general population. But a major Issue in a such neurodevelopmental model theory is the delayed onset of the schizophrenic disorder. Although early signs and prodromal symptoms can be defined retrospectively in patients who have developed schizophrenia, they do have to be confirmed as early predictors in prospective and longitudinal studies. Abnormalities in brain development and maturation seem to begin prenatally, but may continue throughout childhood and the observed changes during these periods must have -consequences for the neuronal circuitry and connectivity. Advances in brain imaging have now led to the identification of a great number of brain abnormalities in schizophrenia. The most consistently replicated structural anomaly present in the brains of patients with chronic schizophrenia is ventricular enlargement. These findings also include medial temporal lobe structures (which include the amygdala, hippocampus, and parahippocampal gyrus), and neocortical temporal lobe regions (superior temporal gyrus). There is also some evidence for frontal lobe abnormalities, particularly prefrontal gray matter and orbitofrontal regions. Similarly, there are findings for parietal lobe abnormalities (particularly of the inferior parietal lobule which includes both supramarginal and angular gyri) and subcortical abnormalities (basal ganglia, corpus callosum, and thalamus) but more equivocal evidence for cerebellar abnormalities. However, it is possible that the brain structural abnormalities observed in schizophrenia are not only due to neurodevelopmental anomalies, but also to an alteration in cortical plasticity and maturation processes that occurs over the long course of the disease. The genetic predisposition for schizophrenia has been confirmed in many studies. It is utterly disappointing that molecular genetic approaches have so far not yielded conclusive evidence for vulnerability or protection genes in schizophrenia. Future studies will likely benefit from: 1) studying more homogeneous patient groups, 2) studying high risk populations such as biological relatives of patients with schizophrenia, 3) using longitudinal and prospective methodological design in order to confirm the predictive validity of neurodevelopmental clues found in patients with schizophrenia, 4) applying newer strategies such as composite phenotypes of developmental origin, in combination with new genetic methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- D Gourion
- SHU, Centre Hospitalier Sainte-Anne, 7, rue Cabanis, 75014 Paris, France
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25
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Sullivan EV, Rosenbloom M, Serventi KL, Pfefferbaum A. Effects of age and sex on volumes of the thalamus, pons, and cortex. Neurobiol Aging 2004; 25:185-92. [PMID: 14749136 DOI: 10.1016/s0197-4580(03)00044-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 170] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Volumes of thalamus, pons, cortical gray matter, and white matter were derived from MR brain images of healthy men and women spanning the adult age range in order to delineate patterns of aging and to compare age and sex effects in thalamus and pons with such effects in cortical gray and white matter volumes. Men had larger intracranial volume (ICV) than women, but ICV did not correlate with age in either sex. Thalamic, pontine, and cortical white matter volumes did not differ between men and women once ICV differences were taken into account, but men had more cortical gray matter than women even after accounting for ICV. Volumes of pons and thalamus were associated, independent of ICV, in women but not in men. Thalamic volume declined linearly with age at a similar rate in both men and women, whereas cortical gray matter volume declined more steeply with age in men than women. Both pontine and cortical white matter volumes remained stable across the age span in both men and women.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edith V Sullivan
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.
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26
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Wiegand LC, Warfield SK, Levitt JJ, Hirayasu Y, Salisbury DF, Heckers S, Dickey CC, Kikinis R, Jolesz FA, McCarley RW, Shenton ME. Prefrontal cortical thickness in first-episode psychosis: a magnetic resonance imaging study. Biol Psychiatry 2004; 55:131-40. [PMID: 14732592 PMCID: PMC2794421 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2003.07.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Findings from postmortem studies suggest reduced prefrontal cortical thickness in schizophrenia; however, cortical thickness in first-episode schizophrenia has not been evaluated using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). METHODS Prefrontal cortical thickness was measured using MRI in first-episode schizophrenia patients (n = 17), first-episode affective psychosis patients (n = 17), and normal control subjects (n = 17); subjects were age-matched within 2 years and within a narrow age range (18-29 years). A previous study using the same subjects reported reduced prefrontal gray matter volume in first-episode schizophrenia. Manual editing was performed on those prefrontal segmentations before cortical thickness was measured. RESULTS Prefrontal cortical thickness was not significantly different among groups. Prefrontal gray matter volume and thickness were, however, positively correlated in both schizophrenia and control subjects. The product of boundary complexity and thickness, an alternative measure of volume, was positively correlated with volume for all three groups. Finally, age and age at first medication were negatively correlated with prefrontal cortical thickness only in first-episode schizophrenia. CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrates the potential usefulness of MRI for the study of cortical thickness abnormalities in schizophrenia. Correlations between cortical thickness and age and between cortical thickness and age at first medication suggest that the longer the schizophrenic process has been operative, the thinner the prefrontal cortex, although this needs confirmation in a longitudinal study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura C Wiegand
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Brockton, Massachusetts 02301, USA
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Abstract
The use of human brain tissue obtained at autopsy for neurochemical, pharmacological and physiological analyses is reviewed. RNA and protein samples have been found suitable for expression profiling by techniques that include RT-PCR, cDNA microarrays, western blotting, immunohistochemistry and proteomics. The rapid development of molecular biological techniques has increased the impetus for this work to be applied to studies of brain disease. It has been shown that most nucleic acids and proteins are reasonably stable post-mortem. However, their abundance and integrity can exhibit marked intra- and intercase variability, making comparisons between case-groups difficult. Variability can reveal important functional and biochemical information. The correct interpretation of neurochemical data must take into account such factors as age, gender, ethnicity, medicative history, immediate ante-mortem status, agonal state and post-mortem and post-autopsy intervals. Here we consider issues associated with the sampling of DNA, RNA and proteins using human autopsy brain tissue in relation to various ante- and post-mortem factors. We conclude that valid and practical measures of a variety of parameters may be made in human brain tissue, provided that specific factors are controlled.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew R Hynd
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
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28
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Marcelis M, Suckling J, Woodruff P, Hofman P, Bullmore E, van Os J. Searching for a structural endophenotype in psychosis using computational morphometry. Psychiatry Res 2003; 122:153-67. [PMID: 12694890 DOI: 10.1016/s0925-4927(02)00125-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
Structural cerebral abnormalities are frequently observed in schizophrenia. These abnormalities may indicate vulnerability for the disorder, as evidenced by reports of familial clustering of measures identified through region-of-interest analyses using manual outlining procedures. We used computational morphometry to detect structural differences within the entire brain to further examine possible structural endophenotypes. Magnetic resonance imaging scans were obtained in 31 psychotic patients, 32 non-psychotic first-degree relatives of psychotic patients and 27 healthy controls. The images were processed using an automated procedure, yielding global grey matter, white matter, CSF and total brain volume. The relative distribution of grey matter was compared between groups on a clustered-voxel basis. Global grey matter and total brain volume did not differ between the groups. White matter volume was significantly higher and CSF volume significantly lower in relatives compared to both cases and controls. The clustered-voxel based group comparison yielded evidence for significant grey matter deficits in fronto-thalamic-cerebellar regions, in psychotic patients, whereas the most prominent deficits in relatives involved the cerebellum. Patients with psychosis and first-degree healthy relatives of patients with psychosis show cerebellar abnormalities, which may constitute a marker of genetic transmission.
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Affiliation(s)
- Machteld Marcelis
- Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, European Graduate School of Neuroscience, Maastricht University, P.O. Box 616, 6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands
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Abstract
The application of diffusion imaging to the quantitative study of the effects of normal aging and neuropsychiatric diseases on brain tissue microstructure has witnessed its greatest development just over the last few years. Measures derived from diffusion imaging have already been shown to have great utility in identifying age- and disease-related degradation of regional microstructure, particularly of white matter. Investigations comparing diagnoses hold promise for contribution to differential diagnosis. Correlations with cognitive and motor performance provide evidence for functional ramifications of these diffusion measures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edith V Sullivan
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
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Steingard RJ, Renshaw PF, Hennen J, Lenox M, Cintron CB, Young AD, Connor DF, Au TH, Yurgelun-Todd DA. Smaller frontal lobe white matter volumes in depressed adolescents. Biol Psychiatry 2002; 52:413-7. [PMID: 12242057 DOI: 10.1016/s0006-3223(02)01393-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 93] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Prior studies have demonstrated reduced frontal lobe volumes in depressed adolescents. In this study, frontal lobe gray and white matter volumes in adolescents with major depressive disorder were evaluated. METHODS Nineteen depressed and thirty-eight healthy comparison adolescents were recruited for a magnetic resonance imaging study. Images were segmented into gray matter, white matter, and cerebrospinal fluid. Morphometric measurements of the whole brain and frontal lobe region were completed. RESULTS Whole brain volumes were significantly smaller in depressed subjects compared with the healthy comparison subjects. Significantly smaller frontal white matter volumes and significantly larger frontal gray matter volumes were found in the depressed subjects, after controlling for age and whole brain volume. CONCLUSIONS These results are consistent with the hypothesis that a deficit in frontal volume exists during cortical development in adolescents with depression. Further studies are needed to assess whether volume differences resolve over time and the extent to which these differences influence response to treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ronald J Steingard
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Massachusetts Medical School (RJS, ML, DFC, THA), Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
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Batchelor PG, Castellano Smith AD, Hill DLG, Hawkes DJ, Cox TCS, Dean AF. Measures of folding applied to the development of the human fetal brain. IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON MEDICAL IMAGING 2002; 21:953-965. [PMID: 12472268 DOI: 10.1109/tmi.2002.803108] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Previous work has suggested the existence of differences between the cerebral cortex of normal individuals, and those of patients with diseases such as epilepsy and schizophrenia. These shape abnormalities may be of developmental origin. Improved shape measures could provide useful tools for neuroscience research and patient diagnosis. We consider the theoretically desirable properties of measures of brain shape. We have implemented seven measures, three from the neuroscience literature, and four new to this field. Three of the measures are zero-order and four are second-order with respect to the surface. We validate the measures using simple geometrical shapes, and a collection of magnetic resonance scans of ten histologically normal ex vivo fetal brains with gestational ages from 19-42 weeks. We then apply the measures to MR scans from two histologically abnormal ex vivo brains. We demonstrate that our implementation of the measures is sensitive to anatomical variability rather than to the discreteness of the image data. All the measures were sensitive to changes in shape during fetal development. Several of the measures could distinguish between the normal and abnormal fetal brains. We propose a multivariate approach to studying the shape of the cerebral cortex, in which both zero-order and second-order measures are used to quantify folding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ph G Batchelor
- CISG, Guy's, King's and St. Thomas' School of Medicine, King's College London, Guy's Campus, 5th floor Thomas Guy House, London SE1 9RT, UK.
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Chemerinski E, Nopoulos PC, Crespo-Facorro B, Andreasen NC, Magnotta V. Morphology of the ventral frontal cortex in schizophrenia: relationship with social dysfunction. Biol Psychiatry 2002; 52:1-8. [PMID: 12079724 DOI: 10.1016/s0006-3223(01)01363-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Studies have reported premorbid as well as postonset social dysfunction in schizophrenia. This impairment has also been observed to emerge after lesions in the ventral aspect of the frontal cortex (i.e., straight gyrus and orbitofrontal cortex). METHODS Magnetic resonance imaging scans were obtained from 45 male patients with schizophrenia and 45 matched control subjects. Cortical gray matter volume and surface area were determined for the ventral frontal cortex (VFC), subdivided into the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and the straight gyrus (SG). RESULTS The global measures of gray matter volume and surface area in the VFC was not significantly different between patients and control subjects; however, there was a regional difference, with the right SG volume and surface area being smaller in patients compared with control subjects. Volume of the VFC had an inverse correlation with measurements of both premorbid and postdiagnosis social function. The smaller the gray matter in these regions, the greater the social dysfunction. There was no relationship between morphology of this brain region and any other clinical variable. CONCLUSIONS Morphology of the VFC is directly related to abnormal social function in schizophrenia, including measures of social dysfunction that predate the onset of illness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eran Chemerinski
- Mental Health-Clinical Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, Iowa 52242-1057, USA
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Suzuki M, Nohara S, Hagino H, Kurokawa K, Yotsutsuji T, Kawasaki Y, Takahashi T, Matsui M, Watanabe N, Seto H, Kurachi M. Regional changes in brain gray and white matter in patients with schizophrenia demonstrated with voxel-based analysis of MRI. Schizophr Res 2002; 55:41-54. [PMID: 11955962 DOI: 10.1016/s0920-9964(01)00224-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 128] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Abstract
This study examined regional structural changes in the whole brain in 45 medicated patients with schizophrenia (23 males and 22 females), comparing with 42 age- and sex-matched healthy volunteers (22 males and 20 females). Automated voxel-based analysis on three-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was conducted using statistical parametric mapping (SPM). Compared with the controls, relative gray matter in the patients was significantly reduced in the left superior temporal, left middle and inferior frontal, right inferior frontal, and bilateral anterior cingulate and medial temporal areas. Gray matter reductions in the left superior temporal and prefrontal areas were found predominantly in the male patients, while the anterior cingulate gray mater reduction was more striking in the female patients. On the contrary, significant gray matter increases in the patients were found in the parietal areas and the cerebellum. In the white matter, significant reduction was found in the bilateral anterior limbs of the internal capsule and the superior occipitofrontal fasciculus, whereas the bilateral parietal white matter showed significant increases. These results suggest that a pathological process in schizophrenia predominantly affects the fronto-temporolimbic-paralimbic regions. Reduced white matter in the connecting bundles, which was first found in this study, may imply morphological substrates for abnormalities in the fronto-thalamic and fronto-temporolimbic connectivity in schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michio Suzuki
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Toyama Medical and Pharmaceutical University, 2630 Sugitani, Toyama 930-0194, Japan.
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Cannon TD, Thompson PM, van Erp TGM, Toga AW, Poutanen VP, Huttunen M, Lonnqvist J, Standerskjold-Nordenstam CG, Narr KL, Khaledy M, Zoumalan CI, Dail R, Kaprio J. Cortex mapping reveals regionally specific patterns of genetic and disease-specific gray-matter deficits in twins discordant for schizophrenia. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2002; 99:3228-33. [PMID: 11867725 PMCID: PMC122501 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.052023499] [Citation(s) in RCA: 234] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The symptoms of schizophrenia imply disruption to brain systems supporting higher-order cognitive activity, but whether these systems are impacted differentially against a background of diffuse cortical gray-matter deficit remains ambiguous. Some unaffected first-degree relatives of schizophrenics also manifest cortical gray-matter deficits, but it is unclear whether these changes are isomorphic with those in patients, and the answer is critical to understanding the neurobiological conditions necessary for disease expression given a predisposing genotype. Here we report three-dimensional cortical surface maps (probabilistic atlases matching subjects' anatomy point by point throughout cortex) in monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins discordant for chronic schizophrenia along with demographically matched control twins. A map encoding the average differences between schizophrenia patients and their unaffected MZ co-twins revealed deficits primarily in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, superior temporal gyrus, and superior parietal lobule. A map encoding variation associated with genetic proximity to a patient (MZ co-twins > DZ co-twins > control twins) isolated deficits primarily in polar and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. In each case, the statistical significance was confirmed through analysis of 10,000 Monte Carlo permutations, and the remaining cortex was shown to be significantly less affected by contrast analysis. The disease-related deficits in gray matter were correlated with measures of symptom severity and cognitive dysfunction but not with duration of illness or antipsychotic drug treatment. Genetic and disease-specific influences thus affect gray matter in partially nonoverlapping areas of predominantly heteromodal association cortex, changes that may act synergistically in producing overt behavioral features of the disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tyrone D Cannon
- Department of Psychology, University of California, 1285 Franz Hall, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
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Pfefferbaum A, Rosenbloom M, Serventi KL, Sullivan EV. Corpus Callosum, Pons, and Cortical White Matter in Alcoholic Women. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 2002. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1530-0277.2002.tb02552.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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Chow EWC, Zipursky RB, Mikulis DJ, Bassett AS. Structural brain abnormalities in patients with schizophrenia and 22q11 deletion syndrome. Biol Psychiatry 2002; 51:208-15. [PMID: 11839363 PMCID: PMC3295830 DOI: 10.1016/s0006-3223(01)01246-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 84] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND 22q11 Deletion Syndrome is a genetic syndrome associated with an increased risk for developing schizophrenia. Brain abnormalities have been reported in 22q11 Deletion Syndrome, but little is known about whether differences in brain structure underlie the psychotic disorders associated with this syndrome. In the current study, we used magnetic resonance imaging to characterize the structural brain abnormalities found in adults who have both 22q11 Deletion Syndrome and schizophrenia. METHODS Magnetic resonance imaging brain scans of 14 adults (7 male, 7 female) with 22q11 Deletion Syndrome and schizophrenia and 14 age- and gender-matched healthy volunteers were analyzed to derive measures of gray matter, white matter, and cerebrospinal fluid. Differences between the two groups were tested using student t tests. RESULTS 22q11 Deletion Syndrome and schizophrenia subjects had significantly smaller total gray matter volume (t = 2.88, p <.01) and larger lateral ventricles (t = 4.08, p <.001) than healthy controls. Gray matter deficits were most prominent in the frontal and temporal lobes. Total white matter volumes did not differ between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS Findings from this 22q11 Deletion Syndrome and schizophrenia study are similar to those reported in other patients with schizophrenia, but only partially consistent with those reported in nonpsychotic children with 22q11 Deletion Syndrome. 22q11 Deletion Syndrome may provide a valuable genetic neurodevelopmental model for investigating the relationship between abnormalities in brain development and the expression of schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva W C Chow
- Department of Psychiatry, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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Mathalon DH, Fedor M, Faustman WO, Gray M, Askari N, Ford JM. Response-monitoring dysfunction in schizophrenia: An event-related brain potential study. JOURNAL OF ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY 2002. [DOI: 10.1037/0021-843x.111.1.22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 186] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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Ford JM, Mathalon DH, Kalba S, Whitfield S, Faustman WO, Roth WT. Cortical responsiveness during talking and listening in schizophrenia: an event-related brain potential study. Biol Psychiatry 2001; 50:540-9. [PMID: 11600107 DOI: 10.1016/s0006-3223(01)01166-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 100] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Failures to recognize inner speech as self-generated may underlie positive symptoms of schizophrenia-like auditory hallucinations. This could result from a faulty comparison in auditory cortex between speech-related corollary discharge and reafferent discharges from thinking or speaking, with misattribution of internal thoughts to external sources. Although compelling, failures to monitor covert speech (thoughts) are not as amenable to investigation as failures to monitor overt speech (talking). METHODS Effects of talking on auditory cortex responsiveness were assessed in 10 healthy adults and 12 patients with schizophrenia (DSM-IV) using N1 event-related potentials (ERPs) to acoustic and visual probes during talking aloud, listening to one's speech played back, and silent baseline. Trials contaminated by muscle artifact while talking were excluded. RESULTS Talking and listening affected N1 to acoustic but not to visual probes, reflecting modality specificity of effects. Patterns of responses to acoustic probes differed between control subjects and patients. N1 to acoustic probes was reduced during talking compared with baseline in control subjects, but not in patients. Listening reduced N1 equivalently in both groups. CONCLUSIONS Although the failure of N1 to be reduced during talking was not related to current hallucinations in patients, it may be related to the potential to hallucinate.
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Affiliation(s)
- J M Ford
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California 94305-5550, USA
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Sullivan EV, Pfefferbaum A. Magnetic Resonance Relaxometry Reveals Central Pontine Abnormalities in Clinically Asymptomatic Alcoholic Men. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 2001. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1530-0277.2001.tb02337.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Sullivan EV, Fama R, Shear PK, Cahn-Weiner DA, Stein M, Zipursky RB, Pfefferbaum A. Motor sequencing deficits in schizophrenia: a comparison with Parkinson's disease. Neuropsychology 2001; 15:342-50. [PMID: 11499989 DOI: 10.1037/0894-4105.15.3.342] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Motor abnormalities occur in schizophrenia (SZ) and may arise from striatal dysfunction. This study examined whether the pattern of performance on simple and complex motor abilities in SZ was similar to that of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Quantitative tests of speeded movement and motor and cognitive sequencing were used to assess 25 SZ, 16 PD, and 84 normal controls (NCs). Sequencing performance was also examined with motor rigidity taken into account. Compared with the NC group, the SZ and PD groups were impaired on measures of motor rigidity and motor sequencing. With rigidity accounted for, the SZ group was significantly more impaired than the PD group on motor sequencing; cognitive and motor processes contributed to the motor deficit. Cognitive sequencing performance predicted motor sequencing performance in PD but not SZ. Although both SZ and PD resulted in significant motor and cognitive sequencing deficits, the pattern and correlates of these deficits differ, suggesting that the affected neural systems underlying motor deficits in SZ are different from those involved in PD.
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Affiliation(s)
- E V Sullivan
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, California 94305-5723, USA.
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Lencz T, Bilder RM, Cornblatt B. The timing of neurodevelopmental abnormality in schizophrenia: an integrative review of the neuroimaging literature. CNS Spectr 2001; 6:233-55. [PMID: 16951658 DOI: 10.1017/s1092852900008610] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
In this paper we will review recent neuroimaging research in schizophrenia, with an aim to critically evaluate several recent proposals concerning the nature and the timing of the neuroanatomic abnormalities underlying the disorder. Specifically, enlargement of cerebrospinal fluid spaces, deficits in cortical gray matter, and reduced volume of mesiotemporal structures have all been reported in patients in the first episode of schizophrenia, their first-degree relatives, and individuals with schizotypal personality disorder, supporting the possibility that these abnormalities reflect a genetically mediated neurodevelopmental disorder. These findings from the empirical literature will be synthesized from the perspective of dual cytoarchitectonic trends theory of neurodevelopment, as well as in relation to current conceptions of the schizophrenia prodrome. We believe that the evidence shows that sufficient groundwork has been laid to begin longitudinal neuroimaging studies of adolescents at clinical risk for schizophrenia, in order to more definitively determine the pathophysiology of the disorder. Such information could have significant implications in terms of understanding the prediction, treatment, and ultimately the prevention of schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- T Lencz
- Cognitive Neuroscience Unit, Department of Psychiatry Research, Hillside Hospital, Glen Oaks, NY, USA
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Glantz LA, Austin MC, Lewis DA. Normal cellular levels of synaptophysin mRNA expression in the prefrontal cortex of subjects with schizophrenia. Biol Psychiatry 2000; 48:389-97. [PMID: 10978722 DOI: 10.1016/s0006-3223(00)00923-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Previous studies have reported that the 38-kd synaptic vesicle-associated protein, synaptophysin, is decreased in the prefrontal cortex of subjects with schizophrenia. METHODS To determine whether the decreased protein levels reflect diminished expression of the synaptophysin gene by prefrontal cortex neurons, we used in situ hybridization histochemistry to determine the cellular levels of synaptophysin messenger RNA in prefrontal cortex area 9 from 10 matched pairs of schizophrenic and normal control subjects. RESULTS Neither the density of neurons with detectable levels of synaptophysin messenger RNA nor the mean level of synaptophysin messenger RNA expression per neuron differed between schizophrenic and control subjects in any cortical layer. CONCLUSIONS These findings indicate that the expression of synaptophysin messenger RNA is not altered in this brain region in schizophrenia. Consequently, reduced levels of synaptophysin protein in the prefrontal cortex of subjects with schizophrenia are more likely to reflect either posttranscriptional abnormalities of synaptophysin in prefrontal cortex neurons or a diminished number of axonal projections to the prefrontal cortex from other brain regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- L A Glantz
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
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Crespo-Facorro B, Kim J, Andreasen NC, O'Leary DS, Magnotta V. Regional frontal abnormalities in schizophrenia: a quantitative gray matter volume and cortical surface size study. Biol Psychiatry 2000; 48:110-9. [PMID: 10903407 DOI: 10.1016/s0006-2332(00)00238-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 98] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Previous structural studies of the frontal lobe in schizophrenia have had somewhat inconsistent results, but most of them have measured the frontal lobe as a single brain structure. To investigate more specific abnormalities in frontal subregions, we measured gray matter volume and cortical surface size in 10 subregions in drug-naive patients during the early stages of the illness. METHODS Magnetic resonance imaging was used to measure frontal subregions in 34 healthy male volunteers, and 26 male, drug-naive schizophrenia patients at early stages of the illness. Frontal subregions were manually traced using our locally developed parcellation method. RESULTS Patients with schizophrenia had a significant deficit in cortical surface size in the right straight gyrus and left orbitofrontal cortex. No differences were found in gray matter volumes. CONCLUSIONS Frontal structural abnormalities found in drug-naive schizophrenic patients appear to be subtle and circumscribed to ventral portions. Anomalies in the cortical surface size suggest neurodevelopmental abnormalities might occur during the early stages of the gyrogenesis. Further investigations are needed to explore the implications of paralimbic ventral frontal regions (i.e., straight gyrus and orbitofrontal cortex) in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- B Crespo-Facorro
- Mental Health-Clinical Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, Iowa, USA
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Harvey PD, Jacobsen H, Mancini D, Parrella M, White L, Haroutunian V, Davis KL. Clinical, cognitive and functional characteristics of long-stay patients with schizophrenia: a comparison of VA and state hospital patients. Schizophr Res 2000; 43:3-9. [PMID: 10828410 DOI: 10.1016/s0920-9964(99)00182-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Long-stay patients constitute a small proportion of all patients with schizophrenia, but in both VA and state psychiatric systems these patients account for a majority of the costs associated with treatment of the illness. VA and state patients would be expected to differ in several respects, including age at onset and premorbid educational status. Little additional information is available about the differences between these samples. Seventy-four long-stay male patients at a chronic state psychiatric center were compared with 50 male veterans from long-stay psychiatric facilities on positive and negative symptoms, cognitive deficits and functional status. The two samples did not differ on positive symptom severity, but the state patients had more severe negative and cognitive symptoms as well as functional deficits. Of all of the variables measured, deficit in self care was the only variable that entered a stepwise discriminant analysis. The correlation between functional and symptomatic variables was the same in both groups, and the group differences and correlations were not influenced by differences in educational status. These data indicate that VA patients may have reduced severity of functional and cognitive impairments relative to state hospital patients, but that the relationship between the different illness variables was similar in the two groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- P D Harvey
- Department of Psychiatry, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, Box 1229, 10029, New York, NY, USA.
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Sullivan EV, Rosenbloom MJ, Pfefferbaum A. Pattern of Motor and Cognitive Deficits in Detoxified Alcoholic Men. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 2000. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1530-0277.2000.tb02032.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 306] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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Rajarethinam RP, DeQuardo JR, Nalepa R, Tandon R. Superior temporal gyrus in schizophrenia: a volumetric magnetic resonance imaging study. Schizophr Res 2000; 41:303-12. [PMID: 10708339 DOI: 10.1016/s0920-9964(99)00083-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 129] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
The left superior temporal gyrus (STG) has been reported to be smaller in patients with schizophrenia. The volume of the STG has been found to correlate negatively with severity of hallucinations and thought disorder. In this study, we measured the STG volume of 20 normal controls and 20 patients with schizophrenia using 3 mm contiguous coronal T1 magnetic resonance images. We found that patients had a significantly smaller left anterior STG, and that the volume of this region negatively correlated with the severity of hallucinations. The left posterior STG was not significantly smaller in patients than in controls, but its volume negatively correlated with severity of thought disorder. We also found that the left anterior STG was smaller than the right STG in patients but not in controls. The STG has at least three histologically distinct areas, each with different connections to the rest of the brain. These data are consistent with the proposition that dysfunction of the primary auditory cortex in the anterior and middle STG and auditory association cortex in the posterior STG may play a role in the production of auditory perceptual abnormalities and poor organization of thought respectively.
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Affiliation(s)
- R P Rajarethinam
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan Hospitals, Ann Arbor 48105, USA
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Lim KO, Rosenbloom MJ, Faustman WO, Sullivan EV, Pfefferbaum A. Cortical gray matter deficit in patients with bipolar disorder. Schizophr Res 1999; 40:219-27. [PMID: 10638860 DOI: 10.1016/s0920-9964(99)00063-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 85] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND cortical gray matter volume deficit and ventricular enlargement are well documented in schizophrenia, but their presence in bipolar disorder is less well established. METHODS global cortical gray matter, white matter and sulcal CSF, as well as lateral and third ventricular volume measures, were derived from axial MRI brain images obtained on age-matched bipolar (n=9), schizophrenic (n=9), and control (n=16) subjects. All subjects were free of history of alcohol or other substance dependence. RESULTS relative to controls, bipolar patients had widespread volume deficits of cortical gray matter but not of cortical white matter. Schizophrenic patients had an even more severe cortical gray matter deficit and greater sulcal and lateral ventricular enlargement than the bipolar patients. CONCLUSIONS this group of patients with bipolar disorder had a widespread deficit of cortical gray matter similar to, but less pronounced than, that observed in patients with schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- K O Lim
- Psychiatry Service, Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System, CA, USA
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48
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Verhoeff NP, Soares JC, D'Souza CD, Gil R, Degen K, Abi-Dargham A, Zoghbi SS, Fujita M, Rajeevan N, Seibyl JP, Krystal JH, van Dyck CH, Charney DS, Innis RB. [123I]Iomazenil SPECT benzodiazepine receptor imaging in schizophrenia. Psychiatry Res 1999; 91:163-73. [PMID: 10641580 DOI: 10.1016/s0925-4927(99)00027-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Deficient inhibitory neurotransmission of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) has been implicated in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia based on postmortem studies. However, in vivo studies have shown predominantly negative or conflicting results. The goal of this study was to better characterize possible changes of the regional GABA(A)-benzodiazepine receptor distribution volume (BZR V3-p) in schizophrenia in vivo, using a larger sample size than previous studies. Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) with [123I]iomazenil was used with a constant infusion paradigm to measure the BZR V3-p under sustained radiotracer equilibrium conditions. Twenty-five patients with schizophrenia and 24 matched healthy control subjects were studied. Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) ratings were done in all subjects. Statistical parametric mapping (SPM) 96 was used to compare patients and control subjects as well as to study the relationship between SPECT results and composite PANSS scores based on two factorial models: the pentagonal model (positive, negative, dysphoric mood, activation, and autistic preoccupation factors) and the taxometric model (disorganized dimension). On the basis of 'absolute' values of V3-p with no normalization for total brain uptake, the schizophrenic patients showed no significant differences in BZR levels compared to the healthy control subjects. With a global normalization procedure, which is more sensitive to relative regional differences in activity, BZR V3-p was significantly decreased in the patients in the left precentral gyrus (BA 6). The relative BZR V3-p showed a significant positive correlation with duration of illness in the superior occipital gyri (BA 19). No significant correlations were observed between either absolute or relative BZR V3-p and either age or any of the composite PANSS scores based on any of the two factorial models in either patients or control subjects. No significant differences were observed between cigarette smoking vs. non-smoking patients, nor between the patients on atypical antipsychotics vs. on typical antipsychotics vs. not on any antipsychotics. In general, no significant differences in BZR V3-p were observed between patients and control subjects, except for a decrease in relative BZR V3-p in the left precentral gyrus. Grey matter atrophy is unlikely to be the cause for this decrease. However, we could not exclude that possibility. The positive correlation with duration of illness might reflect the relative preservation of neurons expressing BZR in the superior occipital gyri as compared to other cortical brain regions in schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- N P Verhoeff
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
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Abstract
Structural neuroimaging studies have provided some of the most consistent evidence for brain abnormalities in schizophrenia. Since the initial computed tomography study by Johnstone and co-workers, which reported lateral ventricular enlargement in schizophrenia, advances in brain imaging technology have enabled further and more refined characterization of abnormal brain structure in schizophrenia in vivo. This selective review discusses the major issues and findings in structural neuroimaging studies of schizophrenia. Among these are evidence for generalized and regional brain volume abnormalities, the specificity of anatomic findings to schizophrenia and to men versus women with schizophrenia, the contribution of genetic influences, and the timing of neuroanatomic pathology in schizophrenia. The second section reviews new approaches for examining brain structure in schizophrenia and their applications to studies on the pathophysiology of schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- G D Pearlson
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21287, USA
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Pfefferbaum A, Sullivan EV, Hedehus M, Moseley M, Lim KO. Brain gray and white matter transverse relaxation time in schizophrenia. Psychiatry Res 1999; 91:93-100. [PMID: 10515464 DOI: 10.1016/s0925-4927(99)00023-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Recent in vivo diffusion brain imaging studies of schizophrenic patients have revealed microstructural abnormalities, with low diffusion anisotropy present throughout much of cortical white matter. Brain anisotropy is produced when proton movement reflects physically restricted water movement, for example, by myelin sheaths. Conditions that increase self-diffusion, such as edema, may also alter the longitudinal and transverse relaxation time of protons, and it is possible that such changes could explain the observed anisotropy diminution seen in schizophrenia. To test this possibility, we calculated pixel-by-pixel transverse relaxation time (T2) and proton density (PD) maps for gray matter and white matter across eight 5-mm-thick axial slices of fast spin echo MRI in 10 control men (age 30-57 years) and 10 men with schizophrenia (age 32-64 years). Schizophrenics had significantly longer mean white matter T2 (84.0 vs. 81.9 ms, P<0.03) and gray matter T2 (95.1 vs. 92.2, P = 0.003); their mean white and gray matter PD values were not significantly different from those of controls. Correlations were not significant between anisotropy and T2 in either grey or white matter but were significant between anisotropy and PD in white matter. T2 relaxation times are longer in schizophrenics than in controls in both gray and white matter whereas anisotropy reduction is restricted to white matter. Taken together, these results suggest that the process producing prolonged T2 does not fully account for the abnormally low anisotropy observed selectively in white matter in this group of schizophrenic patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Pfefferbaum
- Neuropsychiatry Program, SRI International, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA.
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