title: Amygdala and hippocampal volumes in Turner syndrome: a high-resolution MRI study of X-monosomy.
abstract: Turner syndrome (TS) results from partial or complete X-monosomy and is characterized by deficits in visuospatial functioning as well as social cognition and memory. Neuroimaging studies have demonstrated volumetric differences in the parietal region of females with TS compared to controls. The present study examined amygdala and hippocampus morphology in an attempt to further understand the neural correlates of psychosocial and memory functioning in TS. Thirty females with TS age 7.6-33.3 years (mean = 14.7 +/- 6.4) and 29 age-matched controls (mean age = 14.8 +/- 5.9; range = 6.4-32.7) were scanned using high resolution MRI. Volumetric analyses of the MRI scans included whole brain segmentation and manual delineation of the amygdala and hippocampus. Compared to controls, participants with TS demonstrated significantly larger left amygdala gray matter volumes, irrespective of total cerebral tissue and age. Participants with TS also showed disproportionately reduced right hippocampal volumes, involving both gray and white matter. Amygdala and hippocampal volumes appear to be impacted by X-monosomy. Aberrant morphology in these regions may be related to the social cognition and memory deficits often experienced by individuals with TS. Further investigations of changes in medial temporal morphology associated with TS are warranted.
authors.affiliation: Stanford Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, 401 Quarry Road, MC5719, Stanford, CA 94305-5719, USA. skesler@stanford.edu
authors.forename: Shelli R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Kesler
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Garrett
authors.forename: Bruce
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bender
authors.forename: Jerome
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yankowitz
authors.forename: She Min
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.forename: Allan L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Reiss
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000679:Amygdala / Q000473:pathology*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D041321:Chromosomes, Human, X; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology; D003710:Demography; D005260:Female; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D007360:Intelligence; D007361:Intelligence Tests; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D009006:Monosomy; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D014424:Turner Syndrome / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology