Abnormalities of middle longitudinal fascicle and disorganization in patients with schizophrenia

SCHIZOPHRENIA RESEARCH

卷:143

Article

Asami, Takeshi^1,2  Saito, Yukiko²  Whitford, Thomas J.^2,3  Makris, Nikos^4,5,6,7  Niznikiewicz, Margaret¹  McCarley, Robert W.¹  Shenton, Martha E.^1,2,8  Kubicki, Marek^1,2,8 

[1] Harvard Univ, Sch Med, Boston Vet Affairs Healthcare Syst,Brockton Div, Lab Neurosci,Clin Neurosci Div,Dept Psychiat, Brockton, MA 02401 USA

[2] Harvard Univ, Sch Med, Brigham & Womens Hosp, Psychiat Neuroimaging Lab,Dept Psychiat, Boston, MA 02215 USA

[3] Univ New S Wales, Sch Psychol, Sydney, NSW, Australia

[4] Harvard Univ, Sch Med, Massachusetts Gen Hosp,Dept Psychiat, Ctr Morphometr Anal,Athinoula A Martinos Ctr Biom, Boston, MA 02215 USA

[5] Harvard Univ, Sch Med, Massachusetts Gen Hosp,Dept Neurol, Ctr Morphometr Anal,Athinoula A Martinos Ctr Biom, Boston, MA 02215 USA

[6] Harvard Univ, Sch Med, Massachusetts Gen Hosp,Dept Radiol Serv, Ctr Morphometr Anal,Athinoula A Martinos Ctr Biom, Boston, MA 02215 USA

[7] Boston Univ, Sch Med, Dept Anat & Neurobiol, Boston, MA 02118 USA

[8] Harvard Univ, Sch Med, Brigham & Womens Hosp, Surg Planning Lab,MRI Div,Dept Radiol, Boston, MA 02215 USA

关键词: Schizophrenia;    DTI;    FA;    Middle longitudinal fascicle;    Disorganization;    Attention deficit;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.schres.2012.11.030

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

Introduction: The middle longitudinal fascicle (MdLF) is a long association fiber connecting the superior temporal gyrus (STG) and temporal pole with the angular gyrus through the white matter of the STG, structures which are known to play a crucial role in the pathology of schizophrenia. Functions of MdLF are thought to be related to language and thought processing in the left hemisphere, and with attention in the right hemisphere. While deficits of these functions are core clinical features of schizophrenia, no study has investigated the structural abnormalities of MdLF in schizophrenia. Method: 3 T diffusion tensor data was acquired from twenty-six patients with schizophrenia and twenty-five healthy control subjects. Streamline tractography technique was used to extract MdLF. Fractional anisotropy (FA) was compared between the two groups. In addition, relationships were investigated between FA in the left MdLF and the Disorganized Thoughts Factor derived from the Positive and Negative Symptom Scale five factor model, and between FA in the right MdLF and the Poor Attention. Result: Relative to control subjects, the patients with chronic schizophrenia showed significant mean FA reductions in the bilateral MdLF. The FA of the left MdLF demonstrated a significant negative association with the Disorganized Thoughts Factor, and the FA of the right MdLF showed a significant negative relationship with the Poor Attention. Conclusions: This study provides new evidence for structural deficits in the bilateral MdLF in patients with chronic schizophrenia. It further demonstrates the contribution of these abnormalities to the core clinical features - especially to disorganization and attention deficit. (C) 2012 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.

【 授权许可】

Free