title: Disrupted thalamo-cortical connectivity in schizophrenia: a morphometric correlation analysis.
abstract: Increasing studies have implicated the thalamus in schizophrenia, supporting the view that this structure has an important role in this disorder. Given that extensive reciprocal connections exist between the thalamus and the cerebral cortex, it is believed that disruptions of the thalamo-cortical connections may underlie the multiplicity of schizophrenic symptoms. Therefore, assessing the relationship between the thalamus and the neocortex may provide new insights into the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. We analyzed magnetic resonance images from a sample of 101 schizophrenic patients and 101 healthy controls. By assessing the correlation between the thalamic volume and cortical thickness at each vertex on the cortical surface, a thalamo-cortical network was obtained for each group. We compared the patterns of thalamo-cortical connectivity between the two groups. Compared with healthy controls, less distributed cortical regions were identified in the thalamo-cortical network in patients with schizophrenia. Vertex-wise comparison revealed decreased thalamo-cortical connectivity in bilateral inferior frontal gyrus, the left superior temporal gyrus and the right parieto-occipital region in schizophrenia. The observed disruptions in thalamo-cortical connectivity might be the substrate underlying the wide range of schizophrenic symptoms and provide further evidence to support the notion of schizophrenia as a disorder of brain dysconnectivity.
authors: School of Life Sciences and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054, PR China; National Laboratory of Pattern Recognition, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, PR China.
authors: Yuanchao
authors: Y
authors: Zhang
authors: Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei 11221, Taiwan.
authors: Tung-Ping
authors: TP
authors: Su
authors: National Laboratory of Pattern Recognition, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, PR China.
authors: Bing
authors: B
authors: Liu
authors: Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, PR China; Magnetic Resonance Imaging Research Center, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, PR China.
authors: Yuan
authors: Y
authors: Zhou
authors: Brain Connectivity Lab, Institute of Neuroscience, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei 11221, Taiwan.
authors: Kun-Hsien
authors: KH
authors: Chou
authors: Brain Connectivity Lab, Institute of Neuroscience, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei 11221, Taiwan.
authors: Chun-Yi
authors: CY
authors: Lo
authors: Brain Connectivity Lab, Institute of Neuroscience, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei 11221, Taiwan; Institute of Brain Science, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei 11221, Taiwan; Department of Psychiatry, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung 407, Taiwan.
authors: Chia-Chun
authors: CC
authors: Hung
authors: Department of Psychiatry, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung 407, Taiwan.
authors: Wei-Ling
authors: WL
authors: Chen
authors: School of Life Sciences and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054, PR China; National Laboratory of Pattern Recognition, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, PR China. Electronic address: jiangtz@nlpr.ia.ac.cn.
authors: Tianzi
authors: T
authors: Jiang
authors: Brain Connectivity Lab, Institute of Neuroscience, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei 11221, Taiwan; Institute of Brain Science, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei 11221, Taiwan. Electronic address: chingpolin@gmail.com.
authors: Ching-Po
authors: CP
authors: Lin
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000473:pathology*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000473:pathology*; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D013788:Thalamus / Q000473:pathology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Dysconnectivity; Magnetic resonance imaging; Schizophrenia; Thalamo-cortical network; Thalamus