title: Gray matter volume reduction in rostral middle frontal gyrus in patients with chronic schizophrenia.
abstract: The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) is a brain region that has figured prominently in studies of schizophrenia and working memory, yet the exact neuroanatomical localization of this brain region remains to be defined. DLPFC primarily involves the superior frontal gyrus and middle frontal gyrus (MFG). The latter, however is not a single neuroanatomical entity but instead is comprised of rostral (anterior, middle, and posterior) and caudal regions. In this study we used structural MRI to develop a method for parcellating MFG into its component parts. We focused on this region of DLPFC because it includes BA46, a region involved in working memory. We evaluated volume differences in MFG in 20 patients with chronic schizophrenia and 20 healthy controls. Mid-rostral MFG (MR-MFG) was delineated within the rostral MFG using anterior and posterior neuroanatomical landmarks derived from cytoarchitectonic definitions of BA46. Gray matter volumes of MR-MFG were then compared between groups, and a significant reduction in gray matter volume was observed (p<0.008), but not in other areas of MFG (i.e., anterior or posterior rostral MFG, or caudal regions of MFG). Our results demonstrate that volumetric alterations in MFG gray matter are localized exclusively to MR-MFG. 3D reconstructions of the cortical surface made it possible to follow MFG into its anterior part, where other approaches have failed. This method of parcellation offers a more precise way of measuring MR-MFG that will likely be important in further documentation of DLPFC anomalies in schizophrenia.
authors.affiliation: Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, USA. zora@bwh.harvard.edu
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Kikinis
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Fallon
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Niznikiewicz
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Nestor
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Davidson
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bobrow
authors.forename: P E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Pelavin
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Fischl
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yendiki
authors.forename: R W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: McCarley
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kikinis
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kubicki
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Shenton
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002908:Chronic Disease; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000379:methods; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000473:pathology; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000473:pathology*
references.citation: Biol Psychiatry. 2008 Nov 1;64(9):774-81
references.pmid: 18486104
references.citation: Hum Brain Mapp. 1999;8(4):272-84
references.pmid: 10619420
references.citation: Brain. 1997 Feb;120 ( Pt 2):257-69
references.pmid: 9117373
references.citation: Psychiatry Res. 2001 Dec 30;108(3):187-209
references.pmid: 11756016
references.citation: Cereb Cortex. 2004 Jan;14(1):11-22
references.pmid: 14654453
references.citation: Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2000 Aug;57(8):761-8
references.pmid: 10920464
references.citation: Schizophr Res. 2008 Jan;98(1-3):16-28
references.pmid: 17933495
references.citation: Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1986 Feb;43(2):114-24
references.pmid: 3947207
references.citation: Neuroimage. 1999 Feb;9(2):195-207
references.pmid: 9931269
references.citation: Neuroimage. 1999 Aug;10(2):107-13
references.pmid: 10417245
references.citation: Schizophr Res. 1996 Oct 18;22(1):27-40
references.pmid: 8908688
references.citation: Acta Psychiatr Scand. 2008 Jun;117(6):420-31
references.pmid: 18479318
references.citation: Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1999 Jun;56(6):537-47
references.pmid: 10359468
references.citation: Neuroimage. 1999 Nov;10(5):500-19
references.pmid: 10547328
references.citation: Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 2007 Jan 30;31(1):151-7
references.pmid: 17011096
references.citation: Schizophr Res. 2008 Sep;104(1-3):85-95
references.pmid: 18678469
references.citation: Schizophr Bull. 1987;13(2):261-76
references.pmid: 3616518
references.citation: Neuroimage. 1999 Feb;9(2):179-94
references.pmid: 9931268
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2000 Sep 26;97(20):11050-5
references.pmid: 10984517
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2001 Sep 25;98(20):11650-5
references.pmid: 11573002
references.citation: Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2005 Oct;62(10):1071-80
references.pmid: 16203952
references.citation: Neuroimage. 2006 Jul 1;31(3):968-80
references.pmid: 16530430
references.citation: Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2000 Sep;57(9):907-13
references.pmid: 10986554
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1993 Feb 1;90(3):873-7
references.pmid: 8430100
references.citation: Am J Psychiatry. 1998 Aug;155(8):1049-55
references.pmid: 9699693
references.citation: IEEE Trans Med Imaging. 2001 Jan;20(1):70-80
references.pmid: 11293693
references.citation: Hum Brain Mapp. 2005 May;25(1):60-9
references.pmid: 15846819
references.citation: Neuroimage. 2002 Oct;17(2):657-69
references.pmid: 12377141
references.citation: Psychiatry Res. 1997 Nov 28;76(1):29-40
references.pmid: 9498307
references.citation: Cereb Cortex. 1995 Jul-Aug;5(4):323-37
references.pmid: 7580125
references.citation: Am J Psychiatry. 2001 Jul;158(7):1105-13
references.pmid: 11431233
references.citation: Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2003 Sep;60(9):878-88
references.pmid: 12963669