Background
The anterior limb of the internal capsule (ALIC), connecting cortical and subcortical
structures, is involved in functional important circuits. To detect volumetric changes
in ALIC, including the influence of genetic factors, a magnetic resonance imaging
(MRI) study of families affected with schizophrenia was performed.
Methods
The study sample comprised 22 family members with schizophrenia (FM-SZ), 34 family
members without schizophrenia (FM-NSZ), and 43 control subjects. In addition to manual
tracing of ALIC, subjects underwent proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy in the
left prefrontal cortex, psychopathological rating, and neuropsychological assessment
of frontal lobe function.
Results
Compared with controls, a significant reduction of right ALIC volume was seen in all
family members (12%–16% reduction, p < .01) and a reduction of left ALIC volume in FM-NSZ (10% reduction, p = .028) was also observed. Both groups of family members showed a bilateral reduction
in maximal cross sectional area of the ALIC. FM-SZ performed significantly worse on
neurocognitive measures (Subject Ordered Pointing Task [SOPT] and Wisconsin Card Sorting
Test), and performance correlated negatively with the ALIC volume (SOPT, r = −.6,
p = .03).
Conclusions
A reduced volume of ALIC in affected families supports the hypothesis of disturbed
frontothalamic connectivity in schizophrenia and demonstrates functional relevance
by an association with reduced neurocognitive performance.
Key Words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: June 18, 2007
Accepted:
March 27,
2007
Received in revised form:
March 9,
2007
Received:
August 24,
2006
Identification
Copyright
© 2008 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
