Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 18, 2025

Brain Morphology of Cannabis Users With or Without Psychosis: A Pilot MRI Study
Published on: August 18, 2020
Functional and structural abnormalities of thalamus in individuals at early stage of schizophrenia
Yujue Wang1, Lijun Ouyang1, Lejia Fan2
1Department of Psychiatry, National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, National Center for Mental Disorders, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
Background:
Thalamic abnormalities in schizophrenia are recognized, alongside cognitive deficits. However, the current findings about these abnormalities during the prodromal period remain relatively few and inconsistent. This study applied multimodal methods to explore the alterations in thalamic function and structure and their relationship with cognitive function in first-episode schizophrenia (FES) patients and ultra-high-risk (UHR) individuals, aiming to affirm the thalamus's role in schizophrenia development and cognitive deficits.
Methods:
75 FES patients, 60 UHR individuals, and 60 healthy controls (HC) were recruited. Among the three groups, gray matter volume (GMV) and functional connectivity (FC) were evaluated to reflect the structural and functional abnormalities in the thalamus. Pearson correlation was used to calculate the association between these abnormalities and cognitive impairments.
Results:
No significant difference in GMV of the thalamus was found among the abovementioned three groups. Compared with HC individuals, FES patients had decreased thalamocortical FC mostly in the thalamocortical triple network, including the default mode network (DMN), salience network (SN), and executive control network (ECN). UHR individuals had similar but milder dysconnectivity as the FES group. Furthermore, FC between the left thalamus and right putamen was significantly correlated with execution speed and attention in the FES group.
Conclusions:
Our findings revealed decreased thalamocortical FC associated with cognitive deficits in FES and UHR subjects. This improves our understanding of the functional alterations in thalamus in prodromal stage of schizophrenia and the related factors of the cognitive impairment of the disease.
Trial Registration:
ClinicalTrials.govNCT03965598; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03965598.
More Related Videos
05:52Handwriting Analysis Indicates Spontaneous Dyskinesias in Neuroleptic Naïve Adolescents at High Risk for Psychosis
Published on: November 21, 2013
05:14Standardized Data Acquisition for Neuromelanin-Sensitive Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Substantia Nigra
Published on: September 8, 2021
Related Concept Videos
Biological Causes of Schizophrenia
Genetic Factors in Schizophrenia
The genetic basis of schizophrenia is strongly supported by family and twin...
Psychosis: 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...
Positive Symptoms of Schizophrenia: Hallucinations and Delusions
Thought Disorders
Disorganized and unusual thought processes mark thought disorders in schizophrenia. One key feature is disorganized speech, where an individual's conversation includes...
Diencephalon: Anatomical Regions
Diencephalon: Thalamus and Information Relay
Negative and Cognitive Symptoms of Schizophrenia
Negative Symptoms
Negative symptoms of schizophrenia manifest as deficits in normal emotional and behavioral functioning, profoundly impacting daily life. Individuals with schizophrenia often display a flat affect, characterized by a near-total absence of emotional expression,...