Dorso- and ventro-lateral prefrontal volume and spatial working memory in schizotypal personality disorder.
Schizotypal personality disorder (SPD) individuals and borderline personality disorder (BPD) individuals have been reported to show neuropsychological impairments and abnormalities in brain structure. However, relationships between neuropsychological function and brain structure in these groups are not well understood. This study compared visual-spatial working memory (SWM) and its associations with dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC) gray matter volume in 18 unmedicated SPD patients with no BPD traits, 18 unmedicated BPD patients with no SPD traits, and 16 healthy controls (HC). Results showed impaired SWM in SPD but not BPD, compared with HC. Moreover, among the HC group, but not SPD patients, better SWM performance was associated with larger VLPFC (BA44/45) gray matter volume (Fisher's Z p-values <0.05). Findings suggest spatial working memory impairments may be a core neuropsychological deficit specific to SPD patients and highlight the role of VLPFC subcomponents in normal and dysfunctional memory performance.
Department of Psychiatry, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
Kim E
KE
Goldstein
Erin A
EA
Hazlett
Kimberley R
KR
Savage
Heather A
HA
Berlin
Holly K
HK
Hamilton
Yuliya
Y
Zelmanova
Amy E
AE
Look
Harold W
HW
Koenigsberg
Effie M
EM
Mitsis
Cheuk Y
CY
Tang
Margaret
M
McNamara
Larry J
LJ
Siever
Barry H
BH
Cohen
Antonia S
AS
New
D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001883:Borderline Personality Disorder / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D001931:Brain Mapping; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000502:physiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D009929:Organ Size / Q000502:physiology; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012569:Schizotypal Personality Disorder / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013028:Space Perception / Q000502:physiology*