Altered Volume and Functional Connectivity of the Habenula in Schizophrenia

The pathogenesis of schizophrenia (SCH) is associated with the dysfunction of monoamine neurotransmitters, the synthesis and release of which are mainly regulated by a key structure, the habenular (Hb) nucleus. However, little is known regarding whether SCH is associated with structural or functiona...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Frontiers in human neuroscience 2017-12, Vol.11, p.636-636
Main Authors: Zhang, Lei, Wang, Hao, Luan, Shuxin, Yang, Shaojun, Wang, Zhuo, Wang, Jinhui, Zhao, Hua
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Apathy
Brain research
Calcification
Dopamine receptors
Frontal gyrus
functional connectivity
Functional magnetic resonance imaging
Gene expression
Habenula
habenular nucleus
Hallucinations
Medical research
Mental disorders
Monoamines
morphology
Neostriatum
Neural networks
Neuroimaging
Neuroscience
Neurotransmitters
Pathogenesis
Prefrontal cortex
Psychiatry
Putamen
resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging
Schizophrenia
Structure-function relationships
Studies
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Summary:The pathogenesis of schizophrenia (SCH) is associated with the dysfunction of monoamine neurotransmitters, the synthesis and release of which are mainly regulated by a key structure, the habenular (Hb) nucleus. However, little is known regarding whether SCH is associated with structural or functional alterations in the Hb. In this study, we combined structural and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate the changes in volume and functional connectivity of the Hb in 15 patients with SCH vs. 16 age- and gender-matched healthy controls (HCs). Morphologically, the absolute volume of the bilateral Hb was significantly lower in the SCH patients than in the HCs. Functionally, the bilateral Hb showed significantly enhanced functional connectivity with the left medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) in the SCH patients. Additionally, the SCH patients exhibited increased functional connectivity of the left Hb with the left lingual gyrus and right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG). A further exploratory analysis revealed that the SCH patients showed increased functional connectivity between the right Hb and several subcortical regions related to dopaminergic pathways, including the left ventral striatum, caudate and putamen. Finally, the increased functional connectivity of the right Hb with the mPFC was positively correlated with the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) scores in the patients. Together, these results suggest that the altered volume and functional connectivity of the Hb may be involved in the pathogenesis of SCH and thus that the Hb may serve as a potential target in developing new therapeutic strategies in SCH.
ISSN:1662-5161
1662-5161
DOI:10.3389/fnhum.2017.00636