title: Abnormalities in white matter connections between orbitofrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex and their associations with negative symptoms in schizophrenia: a DTI study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The medial orbitofrontal cortex (mOFC) and rostral part of the anterior cingulate cortex (rACC) are brain regions that are important in the neural network involving emotional processing and decision making, as well as playing an important role in social behavior and interaction. Considering the schizophrenia dysconnectivity hypothesis, observed abnormalities in emotional response and social behavior in schizophrenia might be associated with connectivity abnormalities between mOFC and rACC.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-seven patients with chronic schizophrenia and 26 healthy controls were examined using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). White matter properties in bilateral mOFC-rACC connections were examined using stochastic tractography, which has been shown to be among the most effective DTI methods for examining tracts between adjacent gray matter regions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Reductions in fractional anisotropy (FA) were observed in left anterior mOFC-rACC connections (p<0.0001), and bilateral posterior mOFC-rACC connections (left: p<0.0001; right: p<0.0001) in patients compared to controls. In addition, reduced FA in left posterior mOFC-rACC connections was associated with more severe anhedonia-asociality (R=-0.396, p=0.041) and avolition-apathy (R=-0.426, p=0.027) using the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  White matter abnormalities within connections between mOFC and rACC are associated with more severe anhedonia-asociality and avolition-apathy, which suggest that these brain regions may be important in understanding abnormal emotional responses and social behavior in patients with schizophrenia.
authors: Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Clinical Neuroscience Division, Laboratory of Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry, Veterans Affairs (VA) Boston Healthcare System, Harvard Medical School, Brockton, MA, USA; Safety and Health Organization, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan. Electronic address: otanit@chiba-u.jp.
authors: Toshiyuki
authors: T
authors: Ohtani
authors: Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
authors: Sylvain
authors: S
authors: Bouix
authors: Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Clinical Neuroscience Division, Laboratory of Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry, Veterans Affairs (VA) Boston Healthcare System, Harvard Medical School, Brockton, MA, USA.
authors: Taiga
authors: T
authors: Hosokawa
authors: Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Clinical Neuroscience Division, Laboratory of Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry, Veterans Affairs (VA) Boston Healthcare System, Harvard Medical School, Brockton, MA, USA.
authors: Yukiko
authors: Y
authors: Saito
authors: Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
authors: Ryan
authors: R
authors: Eckbo
authors: Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
authors: Thomas
authors: T
authors: Ballinger
authors: Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
authors: Andrew
authors: A
authors: Rausch
authors: Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
authors: Eric
authors: E
authors: Melonakos
authors: Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Surgical Planning Laboratory, MRI Division, Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
authors: Marek
authors: M
authors: Kubicki
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D059445:Anhedonia; D016880:Anisotropy; D002908:Chronic Disease; D038524:Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D056324:Diffusion Tensor Imaging; D007839:Functional Laterality; D066128:Gray Matter / Q000473:pathology; D006179:Gyrus Cinguli / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009413:Nerve Fibers, Myelinated / Q000473:pathology; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000473:pathology; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000473:pathology*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology*; D066127:White Matter / Q000473:pathology*
keywords: Anterior cingulate cortex; Diffusion tensor imaging; Orbitofrontal cortex; Schizophrenia; Stochastic tractography