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Hippocampal deformities in schizophrenia characterized by high dimensional brain mapping
John G Csernansky1, Lei Wang, Donald Jones
1Department of Psychiatry (Box 8134), Washington University School of Medicine, 660 S. Euclid Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA. jgc@conte.wustl.edu
The American Journal of Psychiatry
|November 27, 2002
Summary
Schizophrenia is linked to hippocampal deformities affecting shape and asymmetry, not volume. These structural brain changes suggest altered connections to the frontal cortex but don't correlate with illness severity.
Area of Science:
- Neuroimaging
- Psychiatric Neuroscience
- Computational Anatomy
Background:
- Hippocampal abnormalities are noted in schizophrenia but are hard to distinguish from normal variations.
- Advanced neuroimaging techniques are needed to precisely characterize these differences.
Purpose of the Study:
- To use high-dimensional brain mapping to identify disease-related changes in hippocampal volume, shape, and asymmetry in schizophrenia.
- To differentiate schizophrenia-related hippocampal alterations from typical neuroanatomical variation.
Main Methods:
- T1-weighted MRI scans were acquired from 52 schizophrenia patients and 65 healthy controls.
- Subjects were matched for age, gender, and socioeconomic status; schizophrenia patients were clinically stable.
- High-dimensional brain mapping analyzed hippocampal volume, shape, and asymmetry.
Main Results:
- Schizophrenia subjects showed significant abnormalities in hippocampal shape and asymmetry, but not volume.
- Hippocampal shape deformities were concentrated in the head, impacting connections to the frontal cortex.
- Observed hippocampal asymmetry in schizophrenia was an exaggeration of patterns seen in controls.
Conclusions:
- Schizophrenia is associated with structural hippocampal deformities, indicating disrupted hippocampal-frontal cortex connections.
- The extent of these hippocampal deformities did not correlate with symptom severity or illness duration.