title: Prefrontal cortical thinning in HIV infection is associated with impaired striatal functioning.
abstract: While cortical thinning has been associated with HIV infection, it is unclear whether this reflects a direct effect of the virus, whether it is related to disruption of subcortical function or whether it is better explained by epiphenomena, such as drug abuse or comorbid medical conditions. The present study investigated the relationship between cortical thickness and subcortical function in HIV+ patients. Specifically, we examined the relationship between prefrontal cortical thickness and striatal function. Twenty-three largely treatment naïve, non-substance abusing HIV+ participants and 19 healthy controls matched for age, gender, and educational status were included. Cortical morphometry was performed using FreeSurfer software analysis. Striatal function was measured during an fMRI stop-signal anticipation task known to engage the striatum. Any cortical regions showing significant thinning were entered as dependent variables into a single linear regression model which included subcortical function, age, CD4 count, and a measure of global cognitive performance as independent predictors. The only cortical region that was significantly reduced after correction for multiple comparisons was the right superior frontal gyrus. Striatal activity was found to independently predict superior frontal gyral cortical thickness. While cortical thinning in HIV infection is likely multifactorial, viral induced subcortical dysfunction appears to play a role.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, 2nd Floor Clinical Building, Faculty of Heath Sciences, University of Stellenbosch, Fransie van Zijl Avenue, Tygerberg, Cape Town, 7505, South Africa. stefandup@sun.ac.za.
authors.forename: Stéfan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: du Plessis
authors.affiliation: Departments of Experimental and Developmental Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Matthijs
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vink
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Cape Town, J-Block, Groote Schuur Hospital, Observatory, Cape Town, South Africa.
authors.forename: John A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Joska
authors.affiliation: Institute for Virology and Immunobiology, University of Würzburg, Sanderring 2, 97070, Würzburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Eleni
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Koutsilieri
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, 5th Floor Clinical Building, Faculty of Heath Sciences, University of Stellenbosch, Fransie van Zijl Avenue, Tygerberg, Cape Town, 7505, South Africa.
authors.forename: Asif
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bagadia
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Council (Unit on Anxiety and Stress Disorders), 2nd Floor Clinical Building, Faculty of Heath Sciences, University of Stellenbosch, Fransie van Zijl Avenue, Tygerberg, Cape Town, 7505, South Africa.|Department of Psychiatry, University of Cape Town, J-Block, Groote Schuur Hospital, Observatory, Cape Town, South Africa.
authors.forename: Dan J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Stein
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, 2nd Floor Clinical Building, Faculty of Heath Sciences, University of Stellenbosch, Fransie van Zijl Avenue, Tygerberg, Cape Town, 7505, South Africa.
authors.forename: Robin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Emsley
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D059031:Anticipation, Psychological / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D007266:Inhibition, Psychological; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D017072:Neostriatum / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology*; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Atrophy; Cortex; HIV; Inhibition; Striatum; fMRI