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Subcortical Structures in Demented Schizophrenia Patients: A Comparative Study
Juan Rivas1,2,3,4, Santiago Gutierrez-Gomez5,6, Juliana Villanueva-Congote7
1Department of Psychiatry, Fundación Valle del Lili Cra. 98 # 18-49, Cali 760032, Colombia.
Biomedicines
|January 21, 2023
Summary
Older schizophrenia patients with dementia show significant cognitive decline and brain structure differences, particularly in the hippocampus, amygdala, and thalamus, compared to those without dementia and healthy controls.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Geriatrics
- Psychiatry
Background:
- Few studies explore structural brain differences in older patients with schizophrenia and dementia.
- Cognitive decline is a significant concern in aging populations with schizophrenia.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between cognitive performance and brain volumes in older schizophrenia patients.
- To identify structural brain differences associated with dementia in schizophrenia.
Main Methods:
- Compared cognitive performance using neuropsychological tests in three groups: schizophrenia with dementia (SD), schizophrenia without dementia (SND), and healthy controls (CG).
- Measured brain volumes using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
- Analyzed differences in cognitive domains and specific brain regions (hippocampus, amygdala, thalamus).
Main Results:
- Cognitive performance was significantly better in CG than in schizophrenic patients.
- SD patients performed worse than SND patients, except in semantic memory and visual attention.
- Significant differences in hippocampal, amygdala, and thalamic volumes were observed, particularly between SD and CG, and between SD and SND.
Conclusions:
- Cognitive function and structural brain changes can differentiate schizophrenia patients from healthy controls, with more pronounced alterations in those with dementia.
- Volume loss in the hippocampus, amygdala, and thalamus may be linked to dementia development in schizophrenia patients.
- Functional alterations in SD and SND patients often coincide but can be in opposite directions.
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