1. Global and regional cortical thinning in first-episode psychosis patients: relationships with clinical and cognitive features
- Author
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Elena Sánchez, Ignacio Mata, Vincent A. Magnotta, Rocío Pérez-Iglesias, Benedicto Crespo-Facorro, Diana Tordesillas-Gutiérrez, Nancy C. Andreasen, Rafael Tabarés-Seisdedos, J. L. Vázquez-Barquero, José Manuel Rodríguez-Sánchez, and Roberto Roiz-Santiañez
- Subjects
Adult ,Male ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Adolescent ,brain ,Brain mapping ,Article ,Young Adult ,Cognition ,Cortex (anatomy) ,Internal medicine ,Image Processing, Computer-Assisted ,medicine ,Humans ,Applied Psychology ,Cerebral Cortex ,Psychiatric Status Rating Scales ,Analysis of Variance ,Brain Mapping ,medicine.diagnostic_test ,Age Factors ,Magnetic resonance imaging ,Middle Aged ,cortical thickness ,medicine.disease ,Magnetic Resonance Imaging ,endophenotype ,schizophrenia ,Psychiatry and Mental health ,medicine.anatomical_structure ,Cerebral cortex ,Schizophrenia ,Endophenotype ,Cardiology ,Female ,Analysis of variance ,Age of onset ,Psychology ,Neuroscience ,MRI - Abstract
BackgroundThe thickness of the cortical mantle is a sensitive measure for identifying alterations in cortical structure. We aimed to explore whether first episode schizophrenia patients already show a significant cortical thinning and whether cortical thickness anomalies may significantly influence clinical and cognitive features.MethodWe investigated regional changes in cortical thickness in a large and heterogeneous sample of schizophrenia spectrum patients (n=142) at their first break of the illness and healthy controls (n=83). Magnetic resonance imaging brain scans (1.5 T) were obtained and images were analyzed by using brains2. The contribution of sociodemographic, cognitive and clinical characterictics was investigated.ResultsPatients showed a significant total cortical thinning (F=17.55, d=−0.62, pp'sd's>0.53). No significant group×gender interactions were observed (all p's>0.15). There were no significant associations between the clinical and pre-morbid variables and cortical thickness measurements (all r'sr=−0.24, p=0.021) and parietal cortical thickness (r=−0.27, p=0.009) was found in patients (thicker cortex was associated with lower attention). Our data revealed a similar pattern of cortical thickness changes related to age in patients and controls.ConclusionsCortical thinning is independent of gender, age, age of onset and duration of the illness and does not seem to significantly influence clinical and functional symptomatology. These findings support a primary neurodevelopment disorder affecting the normal cerebral cortex development in schizophrenia.
- Published
- 2010