Positive symptoms associate with cortical thinning in the superior temporal gyrus via the ENIGMA Schizophrenia consortium

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Karolinska Schizophrenia Project Consortium (KaSP) - (Author)
  • Division of Psychological and Social Medicine and Developmental Neurosciences
  • Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy
  • Georgia State University
  • King's College London (KCL)
  • Keck School of Medicine at University of Southern California
  • University of California at Irvine
  • Hospital Universitario Marques de Valdecilla
  • CIBER - Center for Biomedical Research Network
  • Utrecht University
  • University of Oslo
  • Diakonhjemmet Hospital
  • Karolinska Institutet
  • Osaka University
  • National Institutes of Natural Sciences - National Institute for Physiological Sciences
  • University of Rome La Sapienza
  • IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia - Roma
  • Enrico Fermi Center
  • Baylor College of Medicine
  • University of Pennsylvania
  • Heidelberg University 
  • Trinity College Dublin
  • University of Galway
  • TUD Dresden University of Technology

Abstract

Objective: Based on the role of the superior temporal gyrus (STG) in auditory processing, language comprehension and self-monitoring, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between STG cortical thickness and positive symptom severity in schizophrenia. Method: This prospective meta-analysis includes data from 1987 individuals with schizophrenia collected at seventeen centres around the world that contribute to the ENIGMA Schizophrenia Working Group. STG thickness measures were extracted from T1-weighted brain scans using FreeSurfer. The study performed a meta-analysis of effect sizes across sites generated by a model predicting left or right STG thickness with a positive symptom severity score (harmonized SAPS or PANSS-positive scores), while controlling for age, sex and site. Secondary models investigated relationships between antipsychotic medication, duration of illness, overall illness severity, handedness and STG thickness. Results: Positive symptom severity was negatively related to STG thickness in both hemispheres (left: βstd = −0.052; P = 0.021; right: βstd = −0.073; P = 0.001) when statistically controlling for age, sex and site. This effect remained stable in models including duration of illness, antipsychotic medication or handedness. Conclusion: Our findings further underline the important role of the STG in hallmark symptoms in schizophrenia. These findings can assist in advancing insight into symptom-relevant pathophysiological mechanisms in schizophrenia.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)439-447
Number of pages9
JournalActa Psychiatrica Scandinavica
Volume135
Issue number5
Publication statusPublished - 1 May 2017
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

researchoutputwizard legacy.publication#78967
Scopus 85016621288
PubMed 28369804
ORCID /0000-0003-2132-4445/work/159605884

Keywords

Sustainable Development Goals

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Keywords

  • cortical thickness, ENIGMA, FreeSurfer, MRI, positive and negative syndrome scale, positive symptoms, scale for the assessment of positive symptoms, schizophrenia, superior temporal gyrus