title: Mean diffusivity and fractional anisotropy as indicators of disease and genetic liability to schizophrenia.
abstract: The goals of this study were to first determine whether the fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) of major white matter pathways associate with schizophrenia, and secondly to characterize the extent to which differences in these metrics might reflect a genetic predisposition to schizophrenia. Differences in FA and MD were identified using a comprehensive atlas-based tract mapping approach using diffusion tensor imaging and high-resolution structural data from 35 patients, 28 unaffected first-degree relatives of patients, 29 community controls, and 14 first-degree relatives of controls. Schizophrenia patients had significantly higher MD in the following tracts compared to controls: the right anterior thalamic radiations, the forceps minor, the bilateral inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus (IFO), the temporal component of the left superior longitudinal fasciculus (tSLF), and the bilateral uncinate. FA showed schizophrenia effects and a linear relationship to genetic liability (represented by schizophrenia patients, first-degree relatives, and controls) for the bilateral IFO, the left inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF), and the left tSLF. Diffusion tensor imaging studies have previously identified white matter abnormalities in all three of these tracts in schizophrenia; however, this study is the first to identify a significant genetic liability. Thus, FA of these three tracts may serve as biomarkers for studies seeking to identify how genes influence brain structure predisposing to schizophrenia. However, differences in FA and MD in frontal and temporal white matter pathways may be additionally driven by state variables that involve processes associated with the disease.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Neuro Imaging, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA. kaclark@ucla.edu
authors.forename: Kristi A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Clark
authors.forename: Keith H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Nuechterlein
authors.forename: Robert F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Asarnow
authors.forename: Liberty S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Hamilton
authors.forename: Owen R
authors.initials: OR
authors.lastname: Phillips
authors.forename: Nathan S
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Hageman
authors.forename: Roger P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Woods
authors.forename: Jeffry R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Alger
authors.forename: Arthur W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Toga
authors.forename: Katherine L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Narr
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D010054:Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale; D038524:Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D004292:Dominance, Cerebral / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000473:pathology*; D012016:Reference Values; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000235:genetics*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D014150:Antipsychotic Agents