Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 7, 2026
Measurement of Fronto-limbic Activity Using an Emotional Oddball Task in Children with Familial High Risk for Schizophrenia
Published on: December 2, 2015
Familial and environmental influences on brain volumes in twins with schizophrenia
Marco M Picchioni1, Fruhling Rijsdijk1, Timothea Toulopoulou1
1From the St. Andrew's Academic Department, Institute of Psychiatry Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, UK (Picchioni); the Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, UK (Picchioni, Toulopoulou, Chaddock, Murray, McGuire); the Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, UK (Picchioni, Metcalfe); the Social, Genetic & Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, UK (Rijsdijk); the Department of Psychology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong (Toulopoulou); the Computational, Cognitive & Clinical Neuroimaging Laboratory, Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, UK (Cole); the Department of Psychology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany (Ettinger); and the Centro de Salut Mental del Ripolles, Institut d'Assistencia Sanitaria de Girona, Girona, Spain (Oses).
Background:
Reductions in whole brain and grey matter volumes are robust features of schizophrenia, yet their etiological influences are unclear.
Methods:
We investigated the association between the genetic and environmental risk for schizophrenia and brain volumes. Whole brain, grey matter and white matter volumes were established from structural MRIs from twins varying in their zygosity and concordance for schizophrenia. Hippocampal volumes were measured manually. We conducted between-group testing and full genetic modelling.
Results:
We included 168 twins in our study. Whole brain, grey matter, white matter and right hippocampal volumes were smaller in twins with schizophrenia. Twin correlations were larger for whole brain, grey matter and white matter volumes in monozygotic than dizygotic twins and were significantly heritable, whereas hippocampal volume was the most environmentally sensitive. There was a significant phenotypic correlation between schizophrenia and reductions in all the brain volumes except for that of the left hippocampus. For whole brain, grey matter and the right hippocampus the etiological links with schizophrenia were principally associated with the shared familial environment. Lower birth weight and perinatal hypoxia were both associated with lower whole brain volume and with lower white matter and grey matter volumes, respectively.
Limitations:
Scan data were collected across 2 sites, and some groups were modest in size.
Conclusion:
Whole brain, grey matter and right hippocampal volume reductions are linked to schizophrenia through correlated familial risk (i.e., the shared familial environment). The degree of influence of etiological factors varies between brain structures, leading to the possibility of a neuroanatomically specific etiological imprint.
Related Concept Videos
01:29Biological Causes of Schizophrenia
Genetic Factors in Schizophrenia
The genetic basis of schizophrenia is strongly supported by family and twin...
01:29Psychological and Sociocultural Causes of Schizophrenia
01:30Biological Influences on Intelligence
01:23Behavioral Genetics and Its Designs
The primary methodologies used in behavior genetics include family studies, twin studies, and adoption studies, each providing unique...
01:20Gene-Environment Interactions
01:27Psychosis: Pathophysiology of Schizophrenia and Other Psychotic Disorders
Researchers have identified genetic factors that increase susceptibility to schizophrenia, underscoring the intricate interplay between genetics and environment in disease development. At the core of schizophrenia's pathophysiology is excessive dopaminergic neurotransmission within...