title: Investigating relationships between cortical thickness and cognitive performance in patients with schizophrenia and healthy adults.
abstract: Relationships between prefrontal and temporal lobe grey matter volumes as assessed by magnetic resonance imaging and neurocognitive test results have been reported in schizophrenia. This investigation aimed to localize brain regions where cortical thickness and neurocognitive performance were related, and investigate if such relationships might differ in schizophrenia patients and healthy controls. Sixty-seven patients with schizophrenia and 69 healthy controls were characterized by neurocognitive testing and by brain cortical thickness maps. Putative cortical thickness/cognitive score relationships were investigated with contrast analyses of general linear models for the combined sample. Regions in which relationships were present were further investigated for diagnostic interaction. In the combined sample, significant positive relationships were found between frontal, temporal and occipital regions and tests for verbal IQ, verbal learning and executive functions. Diagnostic interaction was found for the relationships between verbal IQ and the right temporo-occipital junction and the left middle occipital gyrus. In conclusion, the significant relationships between cortical thickness and neurocognitive performances were localized in brain areas known to be involved in cognition. The relationships were similar in patients and controls, except for the right temporo-occipital and left occipital cortical areas, indicating a disrupted structure-function relationship in patients with schizophrenia compared to healthy control subjects.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Psychiatry, Section Vinderen, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway. c.b.hartberg@medisin.uio.no
authors.forename: Cecilie Bhandari
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Hartberg
authors.forename: Glenn
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lawyer
authors.forename: Håkan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nyman
authors.forename: Erik G
authors.initials: EG
authors.lastname: Jönsson
authors.forename: Unn K
authors.initials: UK
authors.lastname: Haukvik
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Saetre
authors.forename: Petr S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Bjerkan
authors.forename: Ole A
authors.initials: OA
authors.lastname: Andreassen
authors.forename: Håkan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hall
authors.forename: Ingrid
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Agartz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000473:pathology*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000209:etiology*; D056344:Executive Function / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000502:physiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology*; D014706:Verbal Learning / Q000502:physiology