Morphometric gray matter differences of the medial frontal cortex influence the social Simon effect

Event Abstract Back to Event Action hypersensitivity: Disturbed self-other integration in schizophrenia Javier De La Asuncion1, Jean-Philippe Van Dijck1, 2*, Manuel Morrens1, Bernard Sabbe1 and Ellen De Bruijn1 1 University of Antwerp, Collaborative Antwerp Psychiatric Research Institute (CAPRI), Belgium 2 Ghent University, Experimental Psychology, Belgium It is well known that schizophrenia is characterized by a wide variety of social cognitive deficits. Typically these deficits in social cognition are believed to account for a wide variety of delusions and hallucinations. Problems in low-level social processes such as self-other integration may underlie these higher-level deficits. Research focusing on actual interacting individuals is scarce and to our knowledge, only one study investigated self-other integration in schizophrenia during a joint setting in schizophrenic patients. Using a spatial variant of the social Simon task, where the to-be categorized stimuli were triangles pointing towards the left or right, it has been demonstrated that schizophrenic patients do not show a social Simon effect, suggesting that self-other integration is absent (Liepelt et al., 2012). Importantly however, schizophrenia is also characterized by deficits in spatial cognition, making it likely that the nature of the stimuli hindered a proper measurement of the social Simon effect. In two experiments, we further investigated self-other integration in schizophrenia using a non-spatial variant of the social Simon task with colors. During the first experiment, 16 healthy controls and 15 schizophrenia patients performed a social Simon in both a joint and an individual (go/nogo) setting. Patients showed an enlarged Simon effect in the joint setting that could not be attributed to general slowing. In Experiment 2, the social nature of this enlarged effect was further investigated. For this purpose, 29 healthy controls and 35 schizophrenia patients performed a social and a regular Simon task. Here again, a selective enlargement of the Simon effect in the social condition was observed. These outcomes indicate that schizophrenia patients have deficits in low-level processes required for successful joint action, but in contrast to previous research, these observations suggest that self-other integration deficits in these patients are merely the result of hypersensitivity towards the social environment in a way that it affects their own action planning during joint task performance. References Liepelt. R., et al. (2012). Action blind: Disturbed self-other integration in schizophrenia. Neuropsychologia, 50, 3775-3780. Keywords: social cognition, Schizophrenia, Social Simon effect, Self-other integration, Action Planning Conference: Belgian Brain Council 2014 MODULATING THE BRAIN: FACTS, FICTION, FUTURE, Ghent, Belgium, 4 Oct - 4 Oct, 2014. Presentation Type: Poster Presentation Topic: Clinical Neuroscience Citation: De La Asuncion J, Van Dijck J, Morrens M, Sabbe B and De Bruijn E (2014). Action hypersensitivity: Disturbed self-other integration in schizophrenia. Conference Abstract: Belgian Brain Council 2014 MODULATING THE BRAIN: FACTS, FICTION, FUTURE. doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2014.214.00079 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 01 Jul 2014; Published Online: 02 Sep 2014. * Correspondence: Dr. Jean-Philippe Van Dijck, Ghent University, Experimental Psychology, Ghent, 9000, Belgium, jeanphilippe.vandijck@ugent.be Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Javier De La Asuncion Jean-Philippe Van Dijck Manuel Morrens Bernard Sabbe Ellen De Bruijn Google Javier De La Asuncion Jean-Philippe Van Dijck Manuel Morrens Bernard Sabbe Ellen De Bruijn Google Scholar Javier De La Asuncion Jean-Philippe Van Dijck Manuel Morrens Bernard Sabbe Ellen De Bruijn PubMed Javier De La Asuncion Jean-Philippe Van Dijck Manuel Morrens Bernard Sabbe Ellen De Bruijn Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.

Direct and indirect effects of fetal irradiation on cortical gray and white matter volume in the macaque

Hallucinations are considered one of the primary symptoms of psychosis; however, their neural basis remains unclear. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM)1 studies have associated hallucinations with gray matter (GM) volume reduction in the superior temporal gyrus in schizophrenia.2 Although hallucinations are associated with brain connectivity,3 few studies have investigated their relationship with white matter (WM) volume. Moreover, these studies have shown inconsistent results.4, 5 The chronicity of illness and long-term medications for schizophrenia may limit the interpretation of previous findings.2 Thus, hallucination studies in clinical high risk for psychosis (CHR) and first-episode psychosis (FEP) are required, with minimal effects of chronicity of illness and medication. However, no VBM study has examined the relationship between hallucinations and WM volume in CHR and FEP. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the regional GM and WM volumes associated with hallucinations in CHR and FEP. We enrolled 57 individuals with CHR, 50 individuals with FEP, and 33 healthy controls (HCs). The Comprehensive Assessment of At-Risk Mental States-Japanese version6 was used to confirm whether ultra-high risk criteria7 were met. Table S1 summarizes the demographic and clinical data of the patients. Hallucination severity was assessed using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS)8 P3 score. Fig. S1 shows the distribution of the severity of hallucinations. Some of those with a PANSS P3 score of 3 or higher were classified as having CHR because of the low frequency and duration of hallucinations. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data were acquired with a 1.5-T Philips scanner. We examined the association of GM and WM volume with hallucination severity in the group that combined patients with CHR and FEP (CHR/FEP combined group) and performed group comparisons of GM and WM volume between the CHR/FEP combined and HC groups. Age, sex, and intracranial volume were entered as nuisance covariates for each analysis. VBM analysis was conducted using DARTEL9 in SPM12 (https://www.fil.ion.ucl.ac.uk/spm/software/spm12/) with standard smoothing of 8-mm full width at half maximum (FWHM). The initial statistical threshold was set at P < 0.001, uncorrected at the voxel level. The extent threshold for cluster size was set based on the expected number of voxels per cluster provided by SPM. Familywise error (FWE) correction at the cluster level (P < 0.05) was applied to identify significant clusters. Appendix S1 provides detailed information on these methods. This study was performed in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and was approved by the Ethics Committee of Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine and Tohoku University Hospital. Written informed consent was obtained from participants aged 18 years or older and from the parents of those under 18 years of age, with written assent from the participants. The anonymity of participants was preserved. WM volume was not significantly correlated with hallucination severity in the CHR/FEP combined group after FWE correction at the cluster level. Reanalysis with 15-mm or 20-mm FWHM filtering did not show significant associations. Additionally, there was no significant difference in the GM and WM volumes between the CHR/FEP combined and HC groups. No regional GM volume abnormalities were significantly correlated with hallucination severity in the CHR/FEP combined group. Appendix S1, Figs. S2–S5, and Tables S2–S5 provide uncorrected results and detailed information regarding these results. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first VBM study to investigate WM volume related to hallucinations in CHR and FEP. We found no significant correlation between WM volume and hallucination severity. In contrast to previous studies in schizophrenia,2, 4, 5 this study examined the brain volume association of hallucinations in CHR and FEP. CHR and FEP are heterogeneous groups in the early stages of mental illness and do not necessarily convert to schizophrenia. Our results indicate that brain disturbances involved in hallucinations in CHR and FEP may be more subtle and/or inconsistent with those in schizophrenia. Diffusion tensor imaging, a neuroimaging method applied to CHR,10 may be suitable for examining structural abnormalities in the development of hallucinations. This study has some limitations. First, information regarding hallucinations is not detailed. Second, the cross-sectional design limited the interpretation of our findings. Third, we used an MRI scanner with a lower field strength than that of recent studies.4 Fourth, there were significant age differences between the groups. Fifth, automatic quality assurance for MRI scans was not performed. In conclusion, advanced neuroimaging studies are needed to reveal the mechanism of hallucinations. This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI (grant number 18K07586). We thank the participants, staff of the SAFE clinic, and radiological technologists. The authors declare no conflicts of interest. Appendix S1. Supporting information Figure S1. Distribution of hallucination severity. CHR, clinical high risk for psychosis; FEP, first-episode psychosis; PANSS, Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale. Figure S2. Brain regions with lower gray matter volume in the CHR/FEP group compared to the HC group. Statistical threshold was set at P < 0.001, uncorrected at the voxel level. The threshold extent for cluster size was set to k = 117 based on the expected number of voxels per cluster provided by SPM. The full width at half maximum was set to 8-mm. CHR, clinical high risk for psychosis; FEP, first-episode psychosis; HC, healthy controls; SPM, Statistical Parametric Mapping Figure S3. Brain regions with lower white matter volume in the CHR/FEP group compared to the HC group. Statistical threshold was set at P < 0.001, uncorrected at the voxel level. The threshold extent for cluster size was set to k = 129 based on the expected number of voxels per cluster provided by SPM. The full width at half maximum was set to 8-mm. CHR, clinical high risk for psychosis; FEP, first-episode psychosis; HC, healthy controls; SPM, Statistical Parametric Mapping Figure S4. Positive correlation between gray matter volume and hallucination severity in the patients at clinical high risk for psychosis. Statistical threshold was set at P < 0.001, uncorrected at the voxel level. The threshold extent for cluster size was set to k = 101 based on the expected number of voxels per cluster provided by the SPM. The full width at half maximum was set to 8-mm. SPM, Statistical Parametric Mapping Figure S5. Negative correlation between white matter volume and hallucination severity in the patients at clinical high risk for psychosis. Statistical threshold was set at P < 0.001, uncorrected at the voxel level. The threshold extent for cluster size was set to k = 121 based on the expected number of voxels per cluster provided by the SPM. The full width at half maximum was set to 8-mm. SPM, Statistical Parametric Mapping Table S1. Demographic and clinical characteristics of the participants. †Educational level, CP-equivalent dose on MRI scan, PANSS positive, PANSS negative, PANSS general, PANSS total, PANSS P3: hallucinatory behavior, and days from enrollment to MRI scan were analyzed using the t-test. Age and intracranial volume were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance. Sex and antipsychotic use were analyzed using the chi-squared test. Significant results are shown in bold. CHR, clinical high risk for psychosis; CP-equivalent, chlorpromazine equivalent; FEP, first-episode psychosis; HC, healthy controls; PANSS, Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale. Table S2. Between-group comparison of regional gray matter volume. CHR/FEP < HC (extent threshold: 117 voxels). † Uncorrected p-value at voxel level. ‡ familywise error-corrected p-value at the cluster level. k, cluster size at P < 0.001 (uncorrected); CHR, clinical high risk for psychosis; FEP, first-episode psychosis; HC, healthy controls; L/R, left/right hemisphere; MNI, Montreal Neurological Institute. The extent threshold for cluster size was set based on the expected number of voxels per cluster provided by the SPM. The full width at half maximum was set to 8-mm. Table S3. Between group comparison of regional white matter volume. CHR/FEP < HC (extent threshold: 129 voxels). † Uncorrected P-value at voxel level. ‡ familywise error-corrected p-value at the cluster level. k, cluster size at P < 0.001 (uncorrected); CHR, clinical high risk for psychosis; FEP, first-episode psychosis; HC, healthy controls; L/R, left/right hemisphere; MNI, Montreal Neurological Institute. The extent threshold for cluster size was set based on the expected number of voxels per cluster provided by the SPM. The full width at half maximum was set to 8-mm. Table S4. Correlation between gray matter volume and hallucination severity in the patients with CHR. Positive correlation (extent threshold: 101 voxels). † Uncorrected p-value at voxel level. ‡ familywise error-corrected p-value at the cluster level. k, cluster size at P < 0.001 (uncorrected); CHR, clinical high risk for psychosis; L/R, left/right hemisphere; MNI, Montreal Neurological Institute. The extent threshold for cluster size was set based on the expected number of voxels per cluster provided by the SPM. The full width at half maximum was set to 8-mm. Table S5. Correlation between white matter volume and hallucination severity in the patients with CHR. Negative correlation (extent threshold: 121 voxels). † Uncorrected p-value at voxel level. ‡ familywise error-corrected p-value at the cluster level. k, cluster size at P < 0.001 (uncorrected); CHR, clinical high risk for psychosis; L/R, left/right hemisphere; MNI, Montreal Neurological Institute. The extent threshold for cluster size was set based on the expected number of voxels per cluster provided by the SPM. The full width at half maximum was set to 8-mm. Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.

Brain structure and symptom dimension relationships in obsessive–compulsive disorder: A voxel-based morphometry study

Prefrontal–thalamic–cerebellar gray matter networks and executive functioning in schizophrenia

This study evaluated childhood brain volumes using voxel-based morphometry and examined their relationships with grey matter, white matter and total brain volume in children diagnosed with intellectual disability (ID) and healthy controls. Sixty children (age range 6-12 years) diagnosed with mild to moderate ID according to DSM-5 and 60 age- and sex-matched healthy controls (age range 6-12 years) were included in the study. Total brain volume (TBV), white matter volume (WMV) and grey matter volume (GMV) were automatically calculated from magnetic resonance images of all participants. Normality was assessed using the Shapiro-Wilk test, group differences were assessed using Welch t-tests and associations were assessed using multiple regression and logistic regression analyses. The Shapiro-Wilk test results indicated that many variables were not normally distributed (TBV: p < 0.001; GMV: p < 0.001). In group comparisons, no significant effect of gender on TBV, WMV and GMV was found (t-values ranged from -0.757 to -0.276, all p > 0.45). Age was a strong predictor of TBV (β = 7.25, 95% CI [3.07, 11.43], p < 0.001), and the regression model had high explanatory power (R2 = 0.977). Logistic regression analyses showed that WMV (OR = 0.82, 95% CI [0.73, 0.92], p = 0.001) and GMV (OR = 1.16, 95% CI [1.06, 1.26], p = 0.0012) significantly predicted diagnostic status. However, the very high odds ratios calculated for the WMVM variable (OR > 1063, p < 0.001) indicate a multicollinearity problem. The findings indicate that white and grey matter volumes may differ in children with MR compared to healthy controls, and these structures have potential as diagnostic biomarkers. The study demonstrates the developmental heterogeneity of the brain during childhood. However, the limited sample size, the presence of outliers and multicollinearity should be considered as limitations.

BackgroundDementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) is the second most common neurodegenerative dementia, after Alzheimer’s disease (AD). While alpha‐synuclein pathology is the hallmark of DLB, AD and cerebrovascular pathologies are common in DLB patients. However, the contribution of these pathologies towards neurodegeneration in DLB is largely unknown. We investigated associations of amyloid‐beta, tau, and cerebrovascular biomarkers with regional gray matter (GM) volume in DLB patients and cognitively unimpaired (CU) controls.MethodWe included 30 DLB patients (69.3±10.2 years old, 87% men) and 100 CU individuals balanced on age and sex (Table 1). We used 11C‐Pittsburgh Compound‐B (PiB) and 18F‐Flortaucipir positron emission tomography (PET) to assess amyloid‐beta and tau in‐vivo. We used structural MRI to assess white matter hyperintensity (WMH) volume, a marker of cerebrovascular lesion load, and regional GM volume (a marker of neurodegeneration). We used correlations and ANCOVA in the whole dataset and structural equation modelling in the DLB patients to investigate associations of WMH volume and regional amyloid‐beta and tau PET standardized uptake value ratios (SUVRs) with regional GM volume.ResultDLB patients showed lower GM volume across all cortical and subcortical regions except for cuneus, putamen, and pallidum (Fig.1). Greater WMH volume was associated with lower volume in the medial and orbital frontal cortices, insula, fusiform cortex, and thalamus in DLB patients (Fig.2). Greater PiB SUVR was associated with lower volume in the inferior temporal cortex, while Flortaucipir SUVR did not correlate with GM volume (Fig.2). Structural equation modelling showed that higher age and positivity for the APOE e4 genotype were significant predictors of greater WMH, and WMH in turn was a significant predictor of GM volume in medial and orbital frontal cortices, insula, and inferior temporal cortex (Fig.3). In contrast, we observed two distinct paths for the fusiform cortex, with age having an effect through PiB and Flortaucipir SUVRs on the one path, and through WMH on the other path (Fig.3).ConclusionDLB patients have widespread cortical atrophy, most of which likely is influenced by alpha‐synuclein pathology. Although amyloid‐beta, tau, and cerebrovascular pathologies often coexist in DLB, their contributions to neurodegeneration seem to be region specific.

Secondary changes in the volume of motor-related cortical regions and the relationship with functional recovery during the acute stage after cerebral infarction have not been determined. In the present study, we quantified changes in gray matter (GM) volume in motor-related cortical regions and analyzed their correlations to clinical scores in patients with focal cerebral infarct. Fifteen patients with acute subcortical infarct underwent longitudinal high-resolution structural MRI and clinical assessment 3 times during a 12-week period (weeks 1, 4, and 12). Fourteen age- and sex-matched controls underwent MRI examination. Voxel-based morphometry was used to quantify changes in global GM volume; in addition, relationships between GM volume changes in volumes of interest and clinical scores were analyzed. In patients with cerebral infarction, GM volumes detected by voxel-based morphometry both decreased and increased significantly in diffuse cortical regions during the observation period (P<0.001). GM volumes within volumes of interest decreased significantly in the ipsilateral supplementary motor area and contralateral insula, but they increased in the contralateral supplementary motor area over time (all P<0.017). The changes of GM volumes in the ipsilesional and contralesional supplementary motor area correlated with the changes in the Fugl-Meyer scale scores (ipsilesional, rs=0.52; P=0.048; contralesional, rs=0.74; P=0.002) and Barthel Index (ipsilesional, rs=0.56; P=0.030; contralesional, rs=0.65; P=0.009). These results suggest that secondary GM changes occur in diffuse areas and structural changes in some specific motor-related cortex may inhibit or promote functional recovery after an acute subcortical cerebral infarct.

The significance of caudate volume for age-related associative memory decline

Grey matter alterations associated with cannabis use: Results of a VBM study in heavy cannabis users and healthy controls

Absence of regional brain volume change in schizophrenia associated with short-term atypical antipsychotic treatment

Individuals typically recognize where they are (localization) and in which direction they are heading (orientation) in a space using vision, and the retrosplenial/posterior cingulate cortices (RSC/PCC), parahippocampal cortex (PHC), and hippocampus (HP) have been shown to play crucial roles for these navigation-related functions. However, there is empirical evidence that top blind soccer players with long-term training can navigate on the court without vision. This study examined the potential changes in gray matter (GM) volume in the RSC/PCC, PHC, and HP in the brains of a leading and other blind soccer players. We collected structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans from six blind soccer players (including the world's top player) and eight blind non-soccer players. Using voxel-based morphometry (single-case approach), we compared GM volume in each participant to that of 250 sighted participants (none of whom had ever played blind soccer). The world's top blind soccer player had a significant increase in GM volume in the bilateral RSC/PCC compared to sighted participants. Two of the other five blind soccer players also showed a GM increase in the left RSC/PCC. However, this increase in GM volume was not observed in blind non-soccer players. Consequently, the probability of a significant GM increase in the RSC/PCC was significantly higher in the blind soccer group than in the blind non-soccer group. In contrast, no between-group differences were observed in the probability of a significant GM volume increase in the PHC and HP. This study, which unveiled the characteristics of the brains of the world's top blind soccer player and other blind soccer players, demonstrates for the first time that blind soccer training, which requires navigation based on non-visual cues, may enlarge the human RSC/PCC. Moreover, the findings promote our understanding of the brains of visually-impaired persons playing blind soccer.

Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Gray Matter Volume in the Temporal, Frontal, and Cerebellar Regions in the General Population

Chronic alcohol use is associated with declines in gray matter volume, as is the normal aging process. Less apparent, however, is how the interaction between aging and heavy alcohol use affects changes in gray matter across the lifespan. There is some evidence that women are more vulnerable to the negative effects of alcohol use on gray matter than men. In the current study, we examined whether localized gray matter was related to measures of alcohol use disorder (e.g., AUDIT score) in a large sample (N = 436) of participants, ages 18–55 years, with a range of disease severity, using both voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and surface-based morphometry (SBM). We also explored whether gray matter associations with alcohol use disorder (AUD) severity are moderated by sex and age. Results showed significant negative associations between AUD severity and gray matter volume throughout temporal, parietal, frontal, and occipital lobes. Women showed more negative effects of alcohol use than men for cortical thickness in left orbitofrontal cortex, but evidence for increased vulnerability based on sex was limited overall. Similarly, a specific age by alcohol use interaction was observed for volume of right insula, but other regional or global interactions were not statistically supported. However, significant negative associations between heavy alcohol use and gray matter volumes were observed as early as 18–25 years. These findings support that alcohol has deleterious effects on global and regional gray matter above and beyond age, and, of particular importance, that regional associations emerge in early adulthood.

Reductions in body weight and insulin resistance are not associated with changes in grey matter volume or cortical thickness during the PREVIEW study