Structural MRI Study of the Planum Temporale in Individuals With an At-Risk Mental State Using Labeled Cortical...

Area of Science:

• Neuroimaging
• Psychiatry
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Individuals at-risk mental state (ARMS) may exhibit brain structural changes preceding psychosis.
• The planum temporale (PT), crucial for language, shows reduced gray matter and altered asymmetry in schizophrenia.
• Previous studies indicated progressive PT gray matter reduction in early psychosis and ARMS subjects.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate structural differences in the planum temporale (PT) in individuals at-risk mental state (ARMS).
• To determine if PT structural changes precede or accompany the transition to psychosis.
• To compare PT measures between ARMS individuals who develop psychosis and those who do not.

Main Methods:

• MRI scans from 73 ARMS subjects and 74 controls were analyzed.
• Cortical thickness, gray matter volume, and surface area of the PT were estimated.
• PT measures were compared between healthy controls, ARMS-P (developed psychosis), and ARMS-NP (did not develop psychosis) groups.

Main Results:

• No significant group differences in PT structural measures were observed.
• All groups exhibited normal PT asymmetry (left > right) in volume and surface area.
• PT measures did not correlate with neurocognitive performance in ARMS subjects.

Conclusions:

• Gray matter reduction and altered asymmetry of the PT may not be present in the prodromal stage of psychosis.
• These structural changes in the PT might emerge just before or during the onset of psychosis.
• The findings challenge the notion of early structural alterations in PT during the at-risk mental state for psychosis.