title: Neural disorganization in the superior cerebellar peduncle and cognitive abnormality in patients with schizophrenia: A diffusion tensor imaging study.
abstract: Disconnection in the frontal-thalamic-cerebellar circuit is thought to be associated with cognitive abnormality in patients with schizophrenia. The superior cerebellar peduncle is involved in neural connectivity in the circuit. Because diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) can detect neural disconnection, we investigated whether there was neural disruption in the superior cerebellar peduncle in patients with schizophrenia. DTI was performed in 21 schizophrenic subjects and 21 age- and sex-matched healthy subjects. Cognitive cluster scores were attained by using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). Schizophrenic subjects had significantly lower fractional anisotropy (FA) in the right and left superior cerebellar peduncles than healthy subjects. Higher FA in the left superior cerebellar peduncle was associated with worse cognitive function in patients with schizophrenia. These findings suggest that there is neural disruption in the superior cerebellar peduncle in patients with schizophrenia, which may be involved in the cognitive abnormalities found in schizophrenia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuropsychiatry, Kansai Medical University, 10-15 Fumizonocho Moriguchi, Osaka 570-8506, Japan. okugawa@takii.kmu.ac.jp
authors.forename: Gaku
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Okugawa
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nobuhara
authors.forename: Tomohisa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Minami
authors.forename: Katsunori
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Takase
authors.forename: Tatsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sugimoto
authors.forename: Yukiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Saito
authors.forename: Masafumi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yoshimura
authors.forename: Toshihiko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kinoshita
mesh_terms: D001931:Brain Mapping; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000166:cytology / Q000473:pathology*; D003071:Cognition; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology / Q000473:pathology*; D012016:Reference Values; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000473:pathology*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology