Thalamic volume in first-episode and chronic schizophrenic subjects: a volumetric MRI study

Preuss, Ulrich W.; Zetzsche, T.; Jäger, Markus; Groll, Constanze; Frodl, Thomas; Bottlender, Ronald; Leinsinger, Gerda; Hegerl, Ulrich; Hahn, Klaus; Möller, Hans‐Jürgen; Meisenzahl, Eva

doi:10.1016/j.schres.2004.09.019

Cited by 42 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…[131617] The findings of this study replicate the results of earlier studies on anti-psychotic-naïve schizophrenia using 1.5-Tesla MRI studies. [233738] The association between thalamus volume and negative symptoms (i.e., the smaller the thalamus the higher the negative symptoms) is in tune with an earlier report that showed a significant correlation between the thalamic volumes and negative symptoms in first-episode patients but not in chronic patients. Importantly, the inclusion of anti-psychotic-naïve subjects and the use of high-resolution imaging in the present study eliminated the effect of potential confounding factors that was present in the earlier studies.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 71%

Clinical correlates of thalamus volume deficits in anti-psychotic-naïve schizophrenia patients: A 3-Tesla MRI study

Rao

Kalmady

Arasappa

et al. 2010

Indian J Psychiatry

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Background:Thalamus, the sensory and motor gateway to the cortex, plays an important role in cognitive and perceptual disturbances in schizophrenia. Studies examining the volume of the thalamus in schizophrenia have reported conflicting findings due to the presence of potential confounding factors such as low-resolution imaging and anti-psychotics. The thalamus volume in anti-psychotic-naïve patients determined using high-resolution 3-Tesla magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has not yet been examined.Materials and Methods:Using 3-Tesla MRI, this study for the first time examined anti-psychotic-naïve schizophrenia patients (n=18; M:F:11:7) in comparison with healthy controls (n=19;M:F:9:10) group-matched for age, sex, handedness, education, and socioeconomic status. The volume of the thalamus was measured using a three-dimensional, interactive, semi-automated analysis with good inter-rater and intra-rater reliability. Psychopathology was assessed using the Scale for Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS) and the Scale for Assessment of Positive Symptoms (SAPS).Results:Right, left, and total thalamus volumes of patients were significantly smaller than those of controls after controlling for the potential confounding effect of intracranial volume. Thalamus volumes had significant positive correlation with positive symptoms score (SAPS) and significant negative correlation with negative symptoms score (SANS).Conclusions:Thalamus volume deficits in anti-psychotic-naïve schizophrenia patients support a neurodevelopmental pathogenesis. The contrasting correlation of thalamus volume deficits with psychopathology scores suggests that contrasting pruning aberrations underlie symptom genesis in schizophrenia.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 71%

Clinical correlates of thalamus volume deficits in anti-psychotic-naïve schizophrenia patients: A 3-Tesla MRI study

Rao

Kalmady

Arasappa

et al. 2010

Indian J Psychiatry

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“…Interestingly, these volume changes remain across development, with increased volume reduction with aging in SCZ (Nugent et al, 2007; Pujol et al, 2014). Thalamic volume has also been shown to be reduced in chronic and early course SCZ (Ananth et al, 2002; Crespo-Facorro et al, 2007b; Staal et al, 2001) (though see (Preuss et al, 2005; Womer et al, 2014). This volumetric reduction of the thalamus has been demonstrated with meta-analysis for both chronic and early course SCZ (Ellison-Wright et al, 2008).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Amygdala volume is reduced in early course schizophrenia

Rich

Cho

Tang

et al. 2016

Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging

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Subcortical structural alterations have been implicated in the neuropathology of schizophrenia. Yet, the extent of anatomical alterations for subcortical structures across illness phases remains unknown. To assess this, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to examine volume differences of major subcortical structures: thalamus, nucleus accumbens, caudate, putamen, globus pallidus, amygdala and hippocampus. These differences were examined across four groups: i) healthy comparison subjects (HCS, n=96); ii) individuals at high risk (HR, n=21) for schizophrenia; iii) early-course schizophrenia patients (EC-SCZ, n=28); and iv) chronic schizophrenia patients (C-SCZ, n=20). Raw gray matter volumes and volumetric ratios (volume of specific structure / total gray matter volume) were extracted using automated segmentation tools. EC-SCZ group exhibited smaller bilateral amygdala volumetric ratios, compared to HCS and HR subjects. Findings did not change when corrected for age, level of education and medication use. Amygdala raw volumes did not differ among groups once adjusted for multiple comparisons, but the smaller amygdala volumetric ratio in EC-SCZ survived Bonferroni correction. Other structures were not different across the groups following Bonferroni correction. Smaller amygdala volumes during early illness course may reflect pathophysiologic changes specific to illness development, including disrupted salience processing and acute stress responses.

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“…Thalamic pathology has not been a universal finding in schizophrenia. Several in vivo imaging and postmortem studies have failed to find abnormalities in thalamic volume or neuronal number in schizophrenic subjects (Portas et al, 1998;Arciniegas et al, 1999;Deicken et al, 2002;Cullen et al, 2003;Dorph-Petersen et al, 2004;Preuss et al, 2005). Moreover, recent neuroimaging analyses of the hippocampus (Csernansky et al, 2002) and thalamus (Csernansky et al, 2004) in the same cohort of schizophrenic subjects has indicated that pathology of one or the other structure may be more pronounced in different individuals (Csernansky, personal communication).…”

Section: Comparable Cell Number In Schizophrenic and Control Subjectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, postmortem studies of brains from schizophrenic subjects have reported a reduction in total neuronal number and volume of individual thalamic nuclei, e.g., the mediodorsal, anterior, pulvinar and ventral lateral posterior nuclei (Pakkenberg, 1990;Popken et al, 2000;Young et al, 2000;Byne et al, 2002;Danos et al, 2002;. It should be noted, however, that several studies have not found evidence of thalamic pathology in schizophrenic subjects (Portas et al, 1998;Arciniegas et al, 1999;Deicken et al, 2002;Cullen et al, 2003;Dorph-Petersen et al, 2004;Preuss et al, 2005). Moreover, all of the thalamic nuclei that have been implicated in schizophrenia are reciprocally connected with higher association cortices; therefore, it is not clear whether thalamic neuronal deficits in schizophrenia extend to sensory thalamic nuclei, such as the LGN.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stereologic analysis of the lateral geniculate nucleus of the thalamus in normal and schizophrenic subjects

Selemon

Begovic

2007

Psychiatry Research

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Reduction of volume and neuronal number has been found in several association nuclei of the thalamus in schizophrenic subjects. Recent evidence suggests that schizophrenic patients exhibit abnormalities in early visual processing and that many of the observed perceptual deficits are consistent with dysfunction of the magnocellular pathway, i.e. the visual relay from peripheral retinal cells to the two ventrally located magnocellular layers of the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN). The present study was undertaken to determine whether abnormalities in cell number and volume of the LGN are associated with schizophrenia and whether the structural alterations are restricted to either the magnocellular or parvocellular subdivisions of the LGN. Series of Nissl-stained sections spanning the LGN were obtained from 15 schizophrenic and 15 normal control subjects. The optical disector/ fractionator sampling method was used to estimate total neuronal number, total glial number and volume of the magnocellular and parvocellular subdivisions of the LGN. Cell number and volume of the LGN in schizophrenic subjects were not abnormal. Volume of both parvocellular and magnocellular layers of the LGN decreased with age. These findings do not support the hypothesis that early visual processing deficits are due to reduction of neuronal number in the LGN.

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Thalamic volume in first-episode and chronic schizophrenic subjects: a volumetric MRI study

Cited by 42 publications

References 43 publications

Clinical correlates of thalamus volume deficits in anti-psychotic-naïve schizophrenia patients: A 3-Tesla MRI study

Clinical correlates of thalamus volume deficits in anti-psychotic-naïve schizophrenia patients: A 3-Tesla MRI study

Amygdala volume is reduced in early course schizophrenia

Stereologic analysis of the lateral geniculate nucleus of the thalamus in normal and schizophrenic subjects

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