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Apathy Is Associated With Ventral Striatum Volume in Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorder
Robert M Roth1, Matthew A Garlinghouse1, Laura A Flashman1
1From the Brain Imaging Laboratory, Dept. of Psychiatry, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth/DHMC, Lebanon, NH (RMR, MAG, LAF, JCP, JCF); Program in Neuroscience, Dept. of Psychology, Bates College, Lewiston, ME (NSK); Dept. of Psychiatry, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN (TWM); and the Center for Neuroimaging, Dept. of Radiology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN (AJS).
Abstract:
Apathy is prevalent in schizophrenia, but its etiology has received little investigation. The ventral striatum (VS), a key brain region involved in motivated behavior, has been implicated in studies of apathy. We therefore evaluated whether apathy is associated with volume of the VS on MRI in 23 patients with schizophrenia using voxel-based morphometry. Results indicated that greater self-reported apathy severity was associated with smaller volume of the right VS even when controlling for age, gender, depression, and total gray matter volume. The finding suggests that apathy is related to abnormality of brain circuitry subserving motivated behavior in patients with schizophrenia.
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