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Striatal shape abnormalities as novel neurodevelopmental endophenotypes in schizophrenia: a longitudinal study.
M Mallar Chakravarty1, Judith L Rapoport, Jay N Giedd
1Cerebral Imaging Centre, Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Verdun, Canada; Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, Canada; Department of Biomedical Engineering, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.
Human Brain Mapping
|December 16, 2014
Summary
Childhood onset schizophrenia (COS) shows increased striatal volume, while both COS and siblings exhibit shared striatal head shape differences. These findings highlight familial striatal morphology in schizophrenia.
Area of Science:
- Neuroimaging
- Psychiatry
- Genetics
Background:
- Striatal volume alterations in schizophrenia are debated due to medication effects.
- Disentangling disease-specific changes from medication-induced effects in the striatum is challenging.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the familial contribution to striatal morphology in childhood onset schizophrenia (COS) using volume-independent shape analysis.
- To differentiate between disease-related and medication-related striatal changes.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI) data from patients with COS and their nonpsychotic siblings (COSSIBs).
- Application of novel, volume-independent shape mapping algorithms to analyze striatal morphology.
- Volumetric analyses to assess age-related changes in striatal volumes.
Main Results:
- COS patients exhibited age-related increases in overall striatal volumes.
- Both COS patients and COSSIBs shared abnormal striatal head shape, which normalized in COSSIBs by late adolescence.
- A distinct outward displacement in the dorsal caudate body of COS patients may indicate medication effects.
- Striatal shape analysis revealed localized abnormalities in the striatal head, suggesting striatal-prefrontal circuit involvement.
Conclusions:
- Striatal shape serves as a valuable endophenotype, offering insights beyond volumetric measures.
- Abnormalities in the striatal head are a key feature in schizophrenia, implicating striatal-prefrontal circuits.
- COSSIBs demonstrate resilience mechanisms with age-dependent normalization of striatal morphology.
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