title: Alteration of gray matter microstructure in schizophrenia.
abstract: Neuroimaging studies demonstrate gray matter (GM) macrostructural abnormalities in patients with schizophrenia (SCZ). While ex-vivo and genetic studies suggest cellular pathology associated with abnormal neurodevelopmental processes in SCZ, few in-vivo measures have been proposed to target microstructural GM organization. Here, we use diffusion heterogeneity- to study GM microstructure in SCZ. Structural and diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were acquired on a 3 Tesla scanner in 46 patients with SCZ and 37 matched healthy controls (HC). After correction for free water, diffusion heterogeneity as well as commonly used diffusion measures FA and MD and volume were calculated for the four cortical lobes on each hemisphere, and compared between groups. Patients with early course SCZ exhibited higher diffusion heterogeneity in the GM of the frontal lobes compared to controls. Diffusion heterogeneity of the frontal lobe showed excellent discrimination between patients and HC, while none of the commonly used diffusion measures such as FA or MD did. Higher diffusion heterogeneity in the frontal lobes in early SCZ may be due to abnormal brain maturation (migration, pruning) before and during adolescence and early adulthood. Further studies are needed to investigate the role of heterogeneity as potential biomarker for SCZ risk.
authors.affiliation: Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women's Hospital, 1249 Boylston St, Boston, MA, 02215, USA.|Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatic and Psychotherapy, Ludwig- Maximilians- Universität, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Johanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Seitz
authors.affiliation: Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women's Hospital, 1249 Boylston St, Boston, MA, 02215, USA.
authors.forename: Yogesh
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Rathi
authors.affiliation: Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women's Hospital, 1249 Boylston St, Boston, MA, 02215, USA.|Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Amanda
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lyall
authors.affiliation: Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women's Hospital, 1249 Boylston St, Boston, MA, 02215, USA.|Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Ofer
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Pasternak
authors.affiliation: Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women's Hospital, 1249 Boylston St, Boston, MA, 02215, USA.|Clinical Neuroscience Division, Laboratory of Neuroscience, VA Boston Healthcare System, Brockton, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Elisabetta C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Del Re
authors.affiliation: Clinical Neuroscience Division, Laboratory of Neuroscience, VA Boston Healthcare System, Brockton, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Margaret
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Niznikiewicz
authors.affiliation: Clinical Neuroscience Division, Laboratory of Neuroscience, VA Boston Healthcare System, Brockton, MA, USA.|Department of Psychology, University of Massachusetts, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Nestor
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.|Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Public Psychiatry Division at the Massachusetts Mental Health Center Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Larry J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Seidman
authors.affiliation: Psychiatric and Neurodevelopmental Genetic Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Center for Human Genetic Research, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.|Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Tracey L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Petryshen
authors.affiliation: Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Public Psychiatry Division at the Massachusetts Mental Health Center Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Raquelle I
authors.initials: RI
authors.lastname: Mesholam-Gately
authors.affiliation: Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Public Psychiatry Division at the Massachusetts Mental Health Center Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Joanne
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wojcik
authors.affiliation: Clinical Neuroscience Division, Laboratory of Neuroscience, VA Boston Healthcare System, Brockton, MA, USA.|VA Boston Healthcare System, Brockton Division, Brockton, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Robert W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: McCarley
authors.affiliation: Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women's Hospital, 1249 Boylston St, Boston, MA, 02215, USA.|Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.|VA Boston Healthcare System, Brockton Division, Brockton, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Martha E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Shenton
authors.affiliation: Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women's Hospital, 1249 Boylston St, Boston, MA, 02215, USA.|Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatic and Psychotherapy, Ludwig- Maximilians- Universität, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Inga K
authors.initials: IK
authors.lastname: Koerte
authors.affiliation: Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women's Hospital, 1249 Boylston St, Boston, MA, 02215, USA. kubicki@bwh.harvard.edu.|Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA. kubicki@bwh.harvard.edu.|Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA. kubicki@bwh.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Marek
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kubicki
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000375:Aging / Q000473:pathology; D019540:Area Under Curve; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000473:pathology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D038524:Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D005260:Female; D066128:Gray Matter / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009929:Organ Size; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Diffusion MRI; Gray matter; Heterogeneity; Neurodevelopment; Schizophrenia