Fronto-parietal white matter microstructural deficits are linked to performance IQ in a first-episode schizophrenia Han Chinese sample

2012 ◽  
Vol 43 (10) ◽  
pp. 2047-2056 ◽  
Author(s):  
Q. Wang ◽  
C. Cheung ◽  
W. Deng ◽  
M. Li ◽  
C. Huang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
White Matter ◽  
Cognitive Deficits ◽  
Negative Symptoms ◽  
Diffusion Tensor ◽  
Clinical Manifestations ◽  
First Episode ◽  
Chinese Sample ◽  
Schizophrenia Group ◽  
Core Deficit ◽  
First Episode Schizophrenia

BackgroundEvidence shows that cognitive deficits and white matter (WM) dysconnectivity can independently be associated with clinical manifestations in schizophrenia. It is important to explore this triadic relationship in order to investigate whether the triplet could serve as potential extended endophenotypes of schizophrenia.MethodDiffusion tensor images and clinical performances were evaluated in 122 individuals with first-episode schizophrenia and 122 age- and gender-matched controls. In addition, 65 of 122 of the patient group and 40 of 122 controls were measured using intelligence quotient (IQ) testing.ResultsThe schizophrenia group showed lower fractional anisotropy (FA) values than controls in the right cerebral frontal lobar sub-gyral (RFSG) WM. The schizophrenia group also showed a significant positive correlation between FA in the RFSG and performance IQ (PIQ); in turn, their PIQ score showed a significant negative correlation with negative syndromes.ConclusionsOverall, these findings support the hypothesis that WM deficits may be a core deficit that contributes to cognitive deficits as well as to negative symptoms.

scholarly journals Positive symptoms and white matter microstructure in never-medicated first episode schizophrenia

2010 ◽  
Vol 41 (8) ◽  
pp. 1709-1719 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Cheung ◽  
C. P. Y. Chiu ◽  
C. W. Law ◽  
C. Cheung ◽  
C. L. M. Hui ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
White Matter ◽  
Negative Symptoms ◽  
Diffusion Tensor ◽  
Structural Connectivity ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Middle Temporal Gyrus ◽  
First Episode ◽  
Positive Symptoms ◽  
Cingulate Gyrus ◽  
First Episode Schizophrenia

BackgroundWe investigated cerebral structural connectivity and its relationship to symptoms in never-medicated individuals with first-onset schizophrenia using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI).MethodWe recruited subjects with first episode DSM-IV schizophrenia who had never been exposed to antipsychotic medication (n=34) and age-matched healthy volunteers (n=32). All subjects received DTI and structural magnetic resonance imaging scans. Patients' symptoms were assessed on the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale. Voxel-based analysis was performed to investigate brain regions where fractional anisotropy (FA) values significantly correlated with symptom scores.ResultsIn patients with first-episode schizophrenia, positive symptoms correlated positively with FA scores in white matter associated with the right frontal lobe, left anterior cingulate gyrus, left superior temporal gyrus, right middle temporal gyrus, right middle cingulate gyrus, and left cuneus. Importantly, FA in each of these regions was lower in patients than controls, but patients with more positive symptoms had FA values closer to controls. We found no significant correlations between FA and negative symptoms.ConclusionsThe newly-diagnosed, neuroleptic-naive patients had lower FA scores in the brain compared with controls. There was positive correlation between FA scores and positive symptoms scores in frontotemporal tracts, including left fronto-occipital fasciculus and left inferior longitudinal fasciculus. This implies that white matter dysintegrity is already present in the pre-treatment phase and that FA is likely to decrease after clinical treatment or symptom remission.

scholarly journals Cognitive deficits and white matter abnormalities in never-treated first-episode schizophrenia

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mi Yang ◽  
Shan Gao ◽  
Xiangyang Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
White Matter ◽  
Diffusion Tensor ◽  
Internal Capsule ◽  
First Episode ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Pathophysiological Mechanism ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Healthy Control ◽  
First Episode Schizophrenia

Abstract Cognitive impairment is viewed as a core symptom of schizophrenia (SCZ), but its pathophysiological mechanism remains unclear. White matter (WM) disruption is considered to be a central abnormality that may contribute to cognitive impairment in SCZ patients. However, few studies have addressed the association between cognition and WM integrity in never-treated first-episode (NTFE) patients with SCZ. In this study, we used the MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB) to evaluate cognitive function in NTFE patients (n = 39) and healthy controls (n = 30), and associated it with whole-brain fractional anisotropy (FA) values obtained via voxel-based diffusion tensor imaging. We found that FA was lower in five brain areas of SCZ patients, including the cingulate gyrus, internal capsule, corpus callosum, cerebellum, and brainstem. Compared with the healthy control group, the MCCB’s total score and 8 out of 10 subscores were significantly lower in NTFE patients (all p < 0.001). Moreover, in patients but not healthy controls, the performance in the Trail Making Test was negatively correlated with the FA value in the left cingulate. Our findings provide evidence that WM disconnection is involved in some cognitive impairment in the early course of SCZ.

scholarly journals Risperidone-induced topological alterations of anatomical brain network in first-episode drug-naive schizophrenia patients: a longitudinal diffusion tensor imaging study

2016 ◽  
Vol 46 (12) ◽  
pp. 2549-2560 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Hu ◽  
X. Zong ◽  
J. Zheng ◽  
J. J. Mann ◽  
Z. Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Diffusion Tensor Imaging ◽  
White Matter ◽  
Negative Symptoms ◽  
Diffusion Tensor ◽  
Imaging Study ◽  
First Episode ◽  
Longitudinal Diffusion ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Drug Naïve ◽  
Diffusion Tensor Imaging Study

BackgroundIt remains unclear whether the topological deficits of the white matter network documented in cross-sectional studies of chronic schizophrenia patients are due to chronic illness or to other factors such as antipsychotic treatment effects. To answer this question, we evaluated the white matter network in medication-naive first-episode schizophrenia patients (FESP) before and after a course of treatment.MethodWe performed a longitudinal diffusion tensor imaging study in 42 drug-naive FESP at baseline and then after 8 weeks of risperidone monotherapy, and compared them with 38 healthy volunteers. Graph theory was utilized to calculate the topological characteristics of brain anatomical network. Patients’ clinical state was evaluated using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) before and after treatment.ResultsPretreatment, patients had relatively intact overall topological organizations, and deficient nodal topological properties primarily in prefrontal gyrus and limbic system components such as the bilateral anterior and posterior cingulate. Treatment with risperidone normalized topological parameters in the limbic system, and the enhancement positively correlated with the reduction in PANSS-positive symptoms. Prefrontal topological impairments persisted following treatment and negative symptoms did not improve.ConclusionsDuring the early phase of antipsychotic medication treatment there are region-specific alterations in white matter topological measures. Limbic white matter topological dysfunction improves with positive symptom reduction. Prefrontal deficits and negative symptoms are unresponsive to medication intervention, and prefrontal deficits are potential trait biomarkers and targets for negative symptom treatment development.

White-matter microstructure in previously drug-naive patients with schizophrenia after 6 weeks of treatment

2013 ◽  
Vol 43 (11) ◽  
pp. 2301-2309 ◽  
Author(s):  
Q. Wang ◽  
C. Cheung ◽  
W. Deng ◽  
M. Li ◽  
C. Huang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
White Matter ◽  
Early Phase ◽  
Clinical Symptoms ◽  
Diffusion Tensor ◽  
Disease Process ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
First Episode ◽  
Drug Naïve ◽  
The Right ◽  
First Episode Schizophrenia

BackgroundIt is not clear whether the progressive changes in brain microstructural deficits documented in previous longitudinal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies might be due to the disease process or to other factors such as medication. It is important to explore the longitudinal alterations in white-matter (WM) microstructure in antipsychotic-naive patients with first-episode schizophrenia during the very early phase of treatment when relatively ‘free’ from chronicity.MethodThirty-five patients with first-episode schizophrenia and 22 healthy volunteers were recruited. High-resolution diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) was obtained from participants at baseline and after 6 weeks of treatment. A ‘difference map’ for each individual was calculated from the 6-week follow-up fractional anisotropy (FA) of DTI minus the baseline FA. Differences in Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) scores and Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) scores between baseline and 6 weeks were also evaluated and expressed as a 6-week/baseline ratio.ResultsCompared to healthy controls, there was a significant decrease in absolute FA of WM around the bilateral anterior cingulate gyrus and the right anterior corona radiata of the frontal lobe in first-episode drug-naive patients with schizophrenia following 6 weeks of treatment. Clinical symptoms improved during this period but the change in FA did not correlate with the changes in clinical symptoms or the dose of antipsychotic medication.ConclusionsDuring the early phase of treatment, there is an acute reduction in WM FA that may be due to the effects of antipsychotic medications. However, it is not possible to entirely exclude the effects of underlying progression of illness.

scholarly journals A diffusion tensor imaging study of structural dysconnectivity in never-medicated, first-episode schizophrenia

2007 ◽  
Vol 38 (6) ◽  
pp. 877-885 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Cheung ◽  
C. Cheung ◽  
G. M. McAlonan ◽  
Y. Deng ◽  
J. G. Wong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Diffusion Tensor Imaging ◽  
White Matter ◽  
Corpus Callosum ◽  
Diffusion Tensor ◽  
Structural Connectivity ◽  
First Episode ◽  
Cerebral Peduncle ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Subcortical Region ◽  
First Episode Schizophrenia

BackgroundDiffusion tensor imaging (DTI) can be used to investigate cerebral structural connectivity in never-medicated individuals with first-episode schizophrenia.MethodSubjects with first-episode schizophrenia according to DSM-IV-R who had never been exposed to antipsychotic medication (n=25) and healthy controls (n=26) were recruited. Groups were matched for age, gender, best parental socio-economic status and ethnicity. All subjects underwent DTI and structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. Voxel-based analysis was performed to investigate brain regions where fractional anisotropy (FA) values differed significantly between groups. A confirmatory region-of-interest (ROI) analysis of FA scores was performed in which regions were placed blind to group membership.ResultsIn patients, FA values significantly lower than those in healthy controls were located in the left fronto-occipital fasciculus, left inferior longitudinal fasciculus, white matter adjacent to right precuneus, splenium of corpus callosum, right posterior limb of internal capsule, white matter adjacent to right substantia nigra, and left cerebral peduncle. ROI analysis of the corpus callosum confirmed that the patient group had significantly lower mean FA values than the controls in the splenium but not in the genu. The intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) for independent ROI measurements was 0.90 (genu) and 0.90 (splenium). There were no regions where FA values were significantly higher in the patients than in the healthy controls.ConclusionsWidespread structural dysconnectivity, including the subcortical region, is already present in neuroleptic-naive patients in their first episode of illness.

scholarly journals Genetic Contribution of Synapse-Associated Protein 97 to Orbitofrontal–Striatal–Thalamic Circuitry Connectivity Changes in First-Episode Schizophrenia

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xusan Xu ◽  
Shucun Luo ◽  
Xia Wen ◽  
Xiaoxia Wang ◽  
Jingwen Yin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Negative Symptoms ◽  
Clinical Performance ◽  
Clinical Manifestations ◽  
Analysis Of Covariance ◽  
First Episode ◽  
Imaging Data ◽  
Resting State Functional Connectivity ◽  
Mental Symptoms ◽  
First Episode Schizophrenia

Functional and structural disturbances in the orbitofrontal–striatal–thalamic circuitry are thought to be associated with mental symptoms and neurocognitive impairments in schizophrenia. This study tested whether synapse-associated protein 97 (SAP97), a reasonable candidate gene for schizophrenia, is related to orbitofrontal–striatal–thalamic connection changes in first-episode schizophrenia (FES) patients and the clinical performance of schizophrenic patients by affecting this integrity. Fifty-two FES patients and 52 matched healthy controls were recruited. All subjects underwent genotyping via the improved multiplex ligation detection reaction technique and scanning with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to provide orbitofrontal–striatal–thalamic functional and structural imaging data. A two-way analysis of covariance model was employed to examine abnormal brain connectivities, and Spearman correlations were applied to estimate the relationships between brain connectivity and clinical manifestations. In the FES group, those with the SAP97 rs3915512 TT genotype showed lower structural and functional connectivity than A allele carriers between the orbitofrontal gyrus and striatum/thalamus. In the FES group, negative correlations were found between resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) in the orbitofrontal gyrus and thalamus, and positive symptoms between structural connections in the orbitofrontal gyrus and striatum and cognitive functions, and positive correlations were suggested between RSFC in the orbitofrontal gyrus and thalamus and negative symptoms. Our findings suggested that the SAP97 rs3915512 polymorphism may be involved in mental symptoms and cognitive dysfunction in FES patients by influencing structural and functional connectivity of the orbitofrontal–striatal and orbitofrontal–thalamic regions.

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