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Published on: September 12, 2011
Disruption of hippocampal connectivity in children and adolescents with schizophrenia--a voxel-based diffusion tensor
Tonya White1, Ayse Tuba Karagulle Kendi, Stéphane Lehéricy
1Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55454, USA. twhite@umn.edu
Insights
Early schizophrenia in children and adolescents shows disrupted white matter connectivity in the hippocampus. These white matter abnormalities correlate with cognitive changes, highlighting potential early diagnostic markers.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Radiology
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Background:
- Schizophrenia symptoms may stem from disrupted brain connectivity.
- White matter integrity is crucial for efficient neural communication.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate early white matter pathway disruptions in pediatric schizophrenia.
- To assess diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) metrics in young schizophrenia patients.
Main Methods:
- Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) was used on 14 pediatric schizophrenia patients and 15 controls.
- Fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (AD) maps were generated.
- Group analysis was performed using SPM2.
Main Results:
- Schizophrenia patients showed reduced FA and increased AD in the left posterior hippocampus.
- These diffusion changes were significant (p<0.001).
- Differences were not significant when controlling for IQ.
Conclusions:
- Findings suggest early hippocampal white matter abnormalities in schizophrenia.
- The hippocampus may be involved in cognitive deficits associated with the disorder.
Introduction:
One hypothesis that unifies the diversity of symptoms associated with schizophrenia involves the disruption of connectivity between brain regions. As white matter provides rapid and efficient communication between brain regions, this study was initiated to assess the early disruption of white matter pathways in children and adolescent with schizophrenia.
Materials And Methods:
Diffusion tensor images were acquired on 14 children and adolescents with schizophrenia, one subject with schizoaffective disorder, and 15 age and gender matched controls. The DTI images were acquired in twelve directions on a 3 T Siemens Trio scanner. The images were transformed into fractional anisotropy and mean diffusivity maps and a group analysis was performed using SPM2.
Results:
Children and adolescent patients with schizophrenia demonstrated a significant decrease in FA and associated increase in AD in the left posterior hippocampus (p<0.001, Bonferroni corrected on the cluster-level). These diffusion differences were not statistically significant when IQ was used as a covariate in the analysis.
Discussion:
These findings suggest hippocampal white matter abnormalities that present early in the development of schizophrenia. The lack of significant differences when IQ is used as a covariate suggests that this hippocampal region is associated with cognitive changes associated with schizophrenia.
