title: An investigation of the relationship between cortical connectivity and schizotypy in the general population.
abstract: Recent neuroimaging investigations have identified a relationship between psychotic symptoms in schizophrenia and abnormal brain connectivity. On the basis of the continuum model of psychosis, it was hypothesized that schizotypal traits in healthy control participants would be associated with relatively impaired frontotemporal white matter health as assessed using diffusion tensor imaging. Twenty-one participants (12 women and 9 men aged 18 to 58 years) completed the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ) and underwent diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging scanning as part of a larger study. White matter integrity for the major association fibre tracts was assessed using standard measures of diffusivity, specifically fractional anisotropy (FA) and axial and radial diffusivity. A series of negative binomial regressions yielded significant relationships between reduced FA in seven white matter tracts and increased scores on the SPQ cognitive-perceptual factor. These findings are consistent with research relating brain connectivity to the positive symptoms of schizophrenia, suggesting that the neurobiological bases of schizotypal personality in healthy controls may be analogous to the neurobiological bases of schizophrenia spectrum disorders.
authors.affiliation: Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne and Melbourne Health, Victoria, Australia. nelsonm@unimelb.edu.au
authors.forename: Margaret T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Nelson
authors.forename: Marc L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Seal
authors.forename: Lisa J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Phillips
authors.forename: Antonia H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Merritt
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.forename: Christos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pantelis
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016880:Anisotropy; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000473:pathology; D010555:Personality Inventory; D012569:Schizotypal Personality Disorder / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology* / Q000523:psychology; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000473:pathology*; D055815:Young Adult