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Additive Burden of Abnormal Diffusivity in the Brain with Schizophrenia: A Diffusion Tensor Imaging Study with Public
Young Tak Jo1, Jungsun Lee1, Sung Woo Joo2
1Department of Psychiatry, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Psychiatry Investigation
|April 8, 2020
Summary
Schizophrenia patients exhibit more abnormal brain regions with altered diffusion measures compared to healthy individuals. This suggests schizophrenia involves widespread brain alterations rather than localized pathology.
Area of Science:
- Neuroimaging
- Psychiatry
- Diffusion Tensor Imaging
Background:
- Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is crucial in schizophrenia research.
- Understanding the extent of brain region abnormalities in schizophrenia is key.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantify the number of abnormal brain regions using diffusion measures in schizophrenia patients.
- To assess the burden of altered diffusivity across the brain in schizophrenia.
Main Methods:
- Utilized SchizConnect COBRE project neuroimaging data (57 schizophrenia patients, 71 healthy controls).
- Applied FreeSurfer and FSL for image processing and analysis of 161 regions of interest (ROIs).
- Defined ROIs as abnormal based on a Z-score cutoff of 1.96 for diffusion measures.
Main Results:
- Schizophrenia patients showed a significantly higher number of ROIs with increased radial diffusivity.
- Patients also had a significantly greater number of ROIs with increased trace diffusion measures.
Conclusions:
- Schizophrenia is associated with a significantly increased burden of abnormal brain regions.
- Findings indicate schizophrenia arises from cumulative structural changes across multiple brain regions, not a single site.
