Structural and functional brain abnormalities in schizophrenia: A cross-sectional study at different stages of the disease

Publication date: 20 April 2018 Source:Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry, Volume 83 Author(s): Chao Zhao, Jiajia Zhu, Xiaoyi Liu, Chengcheng Pu, Yunyao Lai, Lei Chen, Xin Yu, Nan Hong Structural and functional deficits associated with schizophrenia are observed prior to the onset of psychosis and differ according to the stage of illness. However, most previous studies concentrated on a limited period during the illness, and it remains uncertain how these abnormalities develop throughout the entire disease course. In the current study, we investigated the gray matter (GM) and regional neural activity alterations in subjects at 4 different stages of schizophrenia. The subjects comprised 53 genetic high risk (HR) individuals, 26 ultra-high risk (UHR) individuals, 58 patients with first-episode schizophrenia (FES), 41 patients with chronic schizophrenia (ChSz) and 39 healthy controls (HC), all of whom underwent structural and resting-state functional MRI scanning. Gray matter volume (GMV), amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) and regional homogeneity (ReHo) values were compared voxelwise among the five groups using voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and the software REST. Correlations among structural, functional abnormalities and PANSS scores in the FES group were evaluated by partial correlation analysis and multiple stepwise regression. Pronounced GMV decline was observed in the bilateral occipital lobe, left orbital frontal cortex, ...
Source: Progress in Neuro Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry - Category: Psychiatry Source Type: research