title: Regional Abnormality of Grey Matter in Schizophrenia: Effect from the Illness or Treatment?
abstract: Both schizophrenia and antipsychotic treatment are known to modulate brain morphology. However, it is difficult to establish whether observed structural brain abnormalities are due to disease or the effects of treatment. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of illness and antipsychotic treatment on brain structures in antipsychotic-naïve first-episode schizophrenia based on a longitudinal short-term design. Twenty antipsychotic-naïve subjects with first-episode schizophrenia and twenty-four age- and sex-matched healthy controls underwent 3T MRI scans. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) was used to examine the brain structural abnormality in patients compared to healthy controls. Nine patients were included in the follow-up examination after 8 weeks of treatment. Tensor-based morphometry (TBM) was used to identify longitudinal brain structural changes. We observed significantly reduced grey matter volume in the right superior temporal gyrus in antipsychotic-naïve patients with schizophrenia compared with healthy controls. After 8 weeks of treatment, patients showed significantly increased grey matter volume primarily in the bilateral prefrontal cortex, insula, right thalamus, left superior occipital cortex and the bilateral cerebellum. In addition, a greater enlargement of the prefrontal cortex is associated with the improvement in negative symptoms, and a more enlarged thalamus is associated with greater improvement in positive symptoms. Our results suggest the following: (1) the abnormality in the right superior temporal gyrus is present in the early stages of schizophrenia, possibly representing the core region related to schizophrenia; and (2) atypical antipsychotics could modulate brain morphology involving the thalamus, cortical grey matter and cerebellum. In addition, examination of the prefrontal cortex and thalamus might facilitate an efficient response to atypical antipsychotics in terms of symptom improvement.
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Huangpu Second Mental Health Center, Shanghai, 200023, China.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yue
authors.affiliation: College of Education, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, China.|Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200030, China.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kong
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200030, China.|Bio-X Institutes, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders, Ministry of Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200030, China.
authors.forename: Jijun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200030, China.|Bio-X Institutes, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders, Ministry of Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200030, China.
authors.forename: Chunbo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Ruijin Hospital affiliated with the School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200025, China.
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200030, China.|Bio-X Institutes, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders, Ministry of Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200030, China.
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Su
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200030, China.|Bio-X Institutes, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders, Ministry of Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200030, China.
authors.forename: Yifeng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D066128:Gray Matter / Q000187:drug effects / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D014150:Antipsychotic Agents