Age-related deficits in fronto-temporal connections in schizophrenia: A diffusion tensor imaging study

Abstract Objective Impairment of white matter connecting frontal and temporal cortices has been reported in schizophrenia. Yet, not much is known about the effects of age on fibers connecting these brain regions. Using diffusion tensor imaging tractography, we investigated the relationship between a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Schizophrenia research 2008-07, Vol.102 (1), p.181-188
Main Authors: Rosenberger, Gudrun, Kubicki, Marek, Nestor, Paul G, Connor, Erin, Bushell, Georgia B, Markant, Douglas, Niznikiewicz, Margaret, Westin, Carl-Fredrik, Kikinis, Ron, J. Saykin, Andrew, McCarley, Robert W, Shenton, Martha E
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Adult and adolescent clinical studies
Age effects
Age Factors
Anisotropy
Biological and medical sciences
Control Groups
Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging - statistics & numerical data
DTI
Female
Frontal Lobe - pathology
Fronto-temporal connections
Functional Laterality
Humans
Male
Medical sciences
Neural Pathways - pathology
Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Psychoses
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia - diagnosis
Schizophrenia - pathology
Schizophrenic Psychology
Temporal Lobe - pathology
Tractography
White matter
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Summary:Abstract Objective Impairment of white matter connecting frontal and temporal cortices has been reported in schizophrenia. Yet, not much is known about the effects of age on fibers connecting these brain regions. Using diffusion tensor imaging tractography, we investigated the relationship between age and fiber integrity in patients with schizophrenia vs. healthy adults. Methods DTI tractography was used to create 3D reconstructions of the cingulum, uncinate and inferior occipito-frontal fasciculi in 27 patients with schizophrenia and 34 healthy volunteers (23–56 years of age, group-matched on age). Fractional anisotropy (FA), describing fiber integrity, was then calculated along the entire length of these tracts, and correlated with subjects' age. Results Patients revealed a significant decline in FA with age in both the cingulum and uncinate, but not in the inferior occipito-frontal fasciculi. No statistically significant correlations were found in these fiber bundles in controls. Conclusions These results suggest an age-associated reduction of frontal–temporal connectivity in schizophrenia, but not in healthy controls.
ISSN:0920-9964
1573-2509
DOI:10.1016/j.schres.2008.04.019