title: Clinical correlates of hippocampus volume and shape in antipsychotic-naïve schizophrenia.
abstract: While volume deficit of hippocampus is an established finding in schizophrenia, very few studies have examined large sample of patients without the confounding effect of antipsychotic treatment. Concurrent evaluation of hippocampus shape will offer additional information on the hippocampal aberrations in schizophrenia. In this study, we analyzed the volume and shape of hippocampus in antipsychotic-naïve schizophrenia patients (N=71) in comparison to healthy controls (N=82). Using 3-T MRI data, gray matter (GM) volume (anterior and posterior sub-divisions) and shape of the hippocampus were analyzed. Schizophrenia patients had significant hippocampal GM volume deficits (specifically the anterior sub-division) in comparison to healthy controls. There were significant positive correlations between anterior hippocampus volume and psychopathology scores of positive syndrome. Shape analyses revealed significant inward deformation of bilateral hippocampal surface in patients. In conclusion, our study findings add robust support for volume deficit in hippocampus in antipsychotic-naïve schizophrenia. Hippocampal shape deficits in schizophrenia observed in this study map to anterior CA1 sub-region. The differential relationship of anterior hippocampus (but not posterior hippocampus) with clinical symptoms is in tune with the findings in animal models. Further systematic studies are needed to evaluate the relationship between these hippocampal gray matter deficits with white matter and functional connectivity to facilitate understanding the hippocampal network abnormalities in schizophrenia.
authors.affiliation: The Schizophrenia Clinic, Department of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, Bangalore, India; Translational Psychiatry Laboratory, Cognitive Neurobiology Division, Neurobiology Research Centre, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, Bangalore, India.
authors.forename: Sunil Vasu
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Kalmady
authors.affiliation: The Schizophrenia Clinic, Department of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, Bangalore, India; Translational Psychiatry Laboratory, Cognitive Neurobiology Division, Neurobiology Research Centre, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, Bangalore, India.
authors.forename: Venkataram
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Shivakumar
authors.affiliation: The Schizophrenia Clinic, Department of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, Bangalore, India.
authors.forename: Rashmi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Arasappa
authors.affiliation: The Schizophrenia Clinic, Department of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, Bangalore, India.
authors.forename: Aditi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Subramaniam
authors.affiliation: The Schizophrenia Clinic, Department of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, Bangalore, India.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gautham
authors.affiliation: The Schizophrenia Clinic, Department of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, Bangalore, India; Translational Psychiatry Laboratory, Cognitive Neurobiology Division, Neurobiology Research Centre, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, Bangalore, India. Electronic address: venkat.nimhans@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Ganesan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Venkatasubramanian
authors.affiliation: The Schizophrenia Clinic, Department of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, Bangalore, India.
authors.forename: Bangalore N
authors.initials: BN
authors.lastname: Gangadhar
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents; D005260:Female; D066128:Gray Matter / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D009929:Organ Size; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D014150:Antipsychotic Agents