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Updated: Apr 3, 2026

Standardized Data Acquisition for Neuromelanin-Sensitive Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Substantia Nigra
Published on: September 8, 2021
Structural and functional brain changes in delusional disorder
Victor Vicens1, Joaquim Radua2, Raymond Salvador1
1Victor Vicens, MD, FIDMAG Germanes Hospitalàries, CIBERSAM, Sant Boi de Llobregat, Spain, Benito Menni CASM, Barcelona, Spain and Psychiatry and Mental Health Program, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Joaquim Radua, MD, BStat, PhD, FIDMAG Germanes Hospitalàries, CIBERSAM, Sant Boi de Llobregat, Spain and Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, UK; Raymond Salvador, BStat, PhD, Maria Anguera-Camós, BSc, Erick J. Canales-Rodríguez, BSc, Salvador Sarró, MD, FIDMAG Germanes Hospitalàries, CIBERSAM, Sant Boi de Llobregat, Spain; Teresa Maristany, MD, Hospital Sant Joan de Déu infantil, Barcelona, Spain; Peter J. McKenna, MD, Edith Pomarol-Clotet, MD, PhD, FIDMAG Germanes Hospitalàries, CIBERSAM, Sant Boi de Llobregat, Spain.
Background:
Delusional disorder has been the subject of very little investigation using brain imaging.
Aims:
To examine potential structural and/or functional brain abnormalities in this disorder.
Method:
We used structural imaging (voxel-based morphometry, VBM) and functional imaging (during performance of the n-back task and whole-brain resting connectivity analysis) to examine 22 patients meeting DSM-IV criteria for delusional disorder and 44 matched healthy controls.
Results:
The patients showed grey matter reductions in the medial frontal/anterior cingulate cortex and bilateral insula on unmodulated (but not on modulated) VBM analysis, failure of de-activation in the medial frontal/anterior cingulate cortex during performance of the n-back task, and decreased resting-state connectivity in the bilateral insula.
Conclusions:
The findings provide evidence of brain abnormality in the medial frontal/anterior cingulate cortex and insula in delusional disorder. A role for the former region in the pathogenesis of delusions is consistent with several other lines of evidence.
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