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Fronto-temporal disconnectivity in schizotypal personality disorder: a diffusion tensor imaging study.
Motoaki Nakamura1, Robert W McCarley, Marek Kubicki
1Clinical Neuroscience Division, Department of Psychiatry, Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System, Brockton Division, Harvard Medical School, MA 02301, USA.
Biological Psychiatry
|June 28, 2005
Summary
Schizotypal personality disorder (SPD) shows altered fronto-temporal connectivity via the uncinate fasciculus (UF), similar to schizophrenia. The cingulum bundle (CB) connectivity appears intact in SPD, unlike in schizophrenia.
Area of Science:
- Neuroimaging
- Psychiatry
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Previous diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) studies identified white matter tract abnormalities in schizophrenia.
- These abnormalities were noted in the uncinate fasciculus (UF) and cingulum bundle (CB), crucial for fronto-temporal connectivity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the uncinate fasciculus (UF) and cingulum bundle (CB) in unmedicated individuals with schizotypal personality disorder (SPD).
- To compare white matter tract integrity in SPD with findings in schizophrenia.
Main Methods:
- Line-scan diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) was used on 15 male SPD subjects and 15 male controls.
- Fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (D(m)) quantified water diffusion; cross-sectional area was determined.
- Spearman's rho and hierarchical regression analyses were employed for correlation analyses.
Main Results:
- SPD subjects exhibited bilaterally reduced FA in the uncinate fasciculus (UF).
- No significant group differences in FA or D(m) were found for the cingulum bundle (CB).
- In SPD, reduced right UF FA correlated with clinical symptoms; left UF area correlated with cognitive functions.
Conclusions:
- Findings suggest altered fronto-temporal connectivity through the UF in SPD, mirroring schizophrenia.
- Neocortical-limbic connectivity via the CB appears intact in SPD, contrasting with schizophrenia findings.