Orbitofrontal cortex volume and intrinsic religiosity in non-clinical psychosis

Abstract

Research indicates that religiosity plays a complex role in mental illness. Despite this link, little work has been done to clarify the role of religiosity in persons exhibiting non-clinical psychosis (NCP, individuals experiencing fleeting psychotic-like symptoms in the absence of a formal psychotic disorder). Further, there are no NCP investigations into whether abnormalities exist in brain structures that are associated with religiosity. Understanding these relationships in NCP is important to clarify the role of religiosity and brain structural anomalies in psychosis. Twenty individuals experiencing NCP and twenty controls were assessed for intrinsic religiosity (IR; motivation/commitment to religious beliefs and/or practices) using a well-validated self-report scale. Structural magnetic resonance imaging was used to determine volumes of the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), a critical region that has been associated with increased religiosity. Results indicate that IR is elevated in the NCP group, and that these individuals exhibit bilateral volume reduction in both the lateral and medial OFC. Sample-wide correlations are non-significant, but show notable relationships between smaller OFC regions and increased IR. Significant negative relationships were found between OFC volume and depressive and negative symptoms. Overall, results suggest that brain abnormalities associated with NCP may also confer a heightened susceptibility for religiosity.

The Structure and Measurement of Unusual Sensory Experiences in Different Modalities: The Multi-Modality Unusual Sensory Experiences Questionnaire (MUSEQ)

“…However, previous studies have found no significant differences in the frequency of experiences between students and general communities (e.g., Lincoln and Keller, 2008 ), or between individuals residing in countries of a similar socioeconomic standing (McGrath et al, 2015 ). One exception is religious beliefs, which are associated with a higher prevalence of hallucinatory phenomena (Pelletier-Baldelli et al, 2014 ; Steenhuis et al, 2016 ). Although of interest, exploring such factors was outside the scope of this study.…”

Examining the Psychosis Continuum

“…The majority of papers have employed structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI) techniques to assess individual differences in gray matter (GM) volume, and thickness. Decreased GM volume has been reported in the frontal and temporal lobes including the pars orbitalis and rostral middle frontal cortex [102], the lateral and medial orbital frontal cortex [103], the inferior temporal gyrus [104], and the left and right putamen [105], with decreased cortical thickness observed in temporal regions [119]. However, there have also been reports of increased volume and thickness, with Jacobsen and colleagues [104], reporting larger GM volume in middle and superior temporal gyri, the angular gyrus, and orbitofrontal cortex in at-risk children, and Cordova-Palomera and colleagues [106] showing relationships between symptom scores with cortical thickness that varied based on season of birth, an environmental risk factor.…”

“…The most common clinical method for ascertainment of subclinical samples for imaging appears to be the CAPE [103, 105, 106, 109, 110,]. However, other methods such as structured clinical interviews and scales focused on specific symptom domains have also been employed.…”

Religiosity and Psychotic Ideation in Stable Schizophrenia: A Role for Empathic Perspective-Taking

“…In individuals experiencing fleeting psychotic-like symptoms in the absence of a formal psychotic disorder, elevated intrinsic religiosity was accompanied with volume reductions at the lateral and medial orbitofrontal cortex. Albeit not significant, an inverse link was found between negative psychotic-like symptoms and intrinsic religiosity [58].…”