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Linking Cortical and Connectional Pathology in Schizophrenia
Maria Angelique Di Biase1,2,3, Vanessa L Cropley1,3, Luca Cocchi4
1Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne and Melbourne Health, Carlton South, Australia.
Schizophrenia Bulletin
|September 15, 2018
Summary
Schizophrenia involves cortical thinning and white matter changes. Adjacent white matter shows increased anisotropy near thinned cortex, suggesting a linked pathology, especially in the frontal lobe.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychiatry
- Radiology
Background:
- Schizophrenia is characterized by cortical thickness (CT) deficits and white matter microstructure abnormalities.
- The relationship between these gray and white matter pathologies in schizophrenia is not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between regional cortical thinning and white matter integrity in adjacent infracortical regions in schizophrenia patients.
- To examine how this relationship varies with age and illness duration.
Main Methods:
- Multimodal neuroimaging (structural MRI and diffusion MRI) was used in 218 schizophrenia patients and 167 healthy controls.
- Cortical thickness and fractional anisotropy (FA) in adjacent white matter were mapped.
- Analyses considered age and illness duration effects.
Main Results:
- A significant inverse correlation was found between cortical thickness and white matter fractional anisotropy (r = -0.5, P < .0001).
- Regions with greater cortical thinning showed higher FA in adjacent white matter, particularly in the frontal lobe.
- This pattern was observed in younger and middle-aged adults but not older adults, with distinct age-related white matter decline trajectories in patients versus controls.
Conclusions:
- Findings suggest pathological dependencies between gray and white matter in schizophrenia.
- Elevated frontal white matter anisotropy may represent a compensatory response to cortical thinning, which is eventually overcome by disease progression.
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