Grey and white matter abnormalities are associated with impaired spatial working memory ability in first-episode schizophrenia.
Spatial working memory (SWM) dysfunction has been suggested as a trait marker of schizophrenia and implicates a diffuse network involving prefrontal, temporal and parietal cortices. However, structural abnormalities in both grey and white matter in relation to SWM deficits are largely unexplored. The current magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study examined this relationship in a sample of young first-episode schizophrenia (FES) patients using a whole-brain voxel-based method. SWM ability of 21 FES patients and 41 comparable controls was assessed by the CANTAB SWM task. Using an automated morphometric analysis of brain MRI scans, we assessed the relationship between SWM abilities and both grey matter volume and white matter density in both groups. Our findings demonstrated the different directionality of the association between SWM errors and grey matter volume in left frontal regions and white matter tracts connecting these regions with temporal and occipital areas between FES patients and controls. This suggests that the substrate underpinning the normal variability in SWM function in healthy individuals may be abnormal in FES, and that the normal neurodevelopmental processes that drive the development of SWM networks are disrupted in schizophrenia.
Cocchi
Luca
L
Department of Psychiatry, Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, The University of Melbourne & Melbourne Health, Melbourne, Australia. lcocchi@unimelb.edu.au
Walterfang
Mark
M
Testa
Renée
R
Wood
Stephen J
SJ
Seal
Marc L
ML
Suckling
John
J
Takahashi
Tsutomu
T
Proffitt
Tina-Marie
TM
Brewer
Warrick J
WJ
Adamson
Christopher
C
Soulsby
Bridget
B
Velakoulis
Dennis
D
McGorry
Patrick D
PD
Pantelis
Christos
C
D000293:Adolescent; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology*; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000502:physiology*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011336:Probability; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D055815:Young Adult