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Increased diffusivity in superior temporal gyrus in patients with schizophrenia: a Diffusion Tensor Imaging study.
KangUk Lee1, Takeshi Yoshida, Marek Kubicki
1Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 1249 Boylston Street, Boston, MA 02215, USA. kuleemd@kangwon.ac.kr
Schizophrenia Research
|January 13, 2009
Summary
Schizophrenia patients show reduced superior temporal gyrus (STG) volume and disrupted tissue integrity. Increased diffusivity in left STG white matter correlates with auditory hallucinations and attention deficits.
Area of Science:
- Neuroimaging
- Psychiatry
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Superior temporal gyrus (STG) volume reduction is a consistent finding in schizophrenia.
- Previous research indicates structural abnormalities in the STG in schizophrenia patients.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate altered structural integrity in STG gray and white matter using Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) in chronic schizophrenia.
- To compare DTI measures in STG between patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls.
Main Methods:
- Acquired Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and DTI data from 21 male schizophrenia patients and 22 healthy male controls.
- Manually segmented STG gray and white matter, measuring mean diffusivity and fractional anisotropy.
- Conducted correlational analyses between DTI measures and clinical symptoms.
Main Results:
- Patients exhibited reduced bilateral STG gray matter volume, but not white matter.
- Increased bilateral mean diffusivity in STG gray matter and left STG white matter was observed in patients.
- Mean diffusivity in left STG white matter correlated significantly with auditory hallucinations and attentional impairments.
Conclusions:
- Findings suggest disrupted tissue integrity in STG gray and white matter in schizophrenia.
- Increased water diffusivity in left STG, linked to hallucinations and attention deficits, may indicate disconnection in auditory/language processing regions.
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