Brain differences between patients with and without first rank symptoms: a delusion?

• Published in: Frontiers in psychiatry 2015-07, Vol.6
• Main Authors: Henriette D Heering, Godefridus JC Koevoets, Laura eKoenders, Marise WJ Machielsen, Carin J Meijer, Manabu eKubota, Jessica ede Nijs, Wiepke eCahn, Hilleke E Hulshoff Pol, Lieuwe ede Haan, Rene eKahn, Neeltje EM Van Haren
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: corticalvolumes; First rank symptoms; Schizophrenia; Structural MRI image analysis; Subcortical volume
• ISSN: 1664-0640
• DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2015.00107

Objective: It has been suggested that specific psychotic symptom clusters may be explained by patterns of biological abnormalities. The presence of first rank symptoms (FRS) has been associated with cognitive abnormalities, e.g., deficits in self-monitoring or in the experience of agency, suggesting that a specific network of neural abnormalities might underlie FRS. Here, we investigate differences in cortical and subcortical brain volume between patients with and without FRS.Methods: Three independent patient samples (referred to as A, B, and C) with different mean ages and in different illness stages were included, leading to a total of 348 patients within the schizophrenia-spectrum. All underwent magnetic resonance imaging of the brain. In addition, the presence of FRS was established using a diagnostic interview. Patients with (FRS+, A: n=63, B: n=129, and C: n=96) and without FRS (FRS-, A: n=35, B: n=17, and C: n=8) were compared on global and local cortical volumes as well as subcortical volumes, using a whole brain (cerebrum) approach. Results: Nucleus accumbens volume was significantly smaller in FRS+ as compared with FRS- in sample A (p