Background
Structural and functional abnormalities in frontal-parietal circuitry are thought
to be associated with working memory (WM) deficits in patients with schizophrenia.
This study examines whether recent-onset schizophrenia is associated with anatomical
changes in the superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF), the main frontal-parietal white
matter connection, and whether the integrity of the SLF is related to WM performance.
Methods
We applied a novel registration approach (Tract-Based Spatial Statistics [TBSS]) to
diffusion tensor imaging data to examine fractional anisotropy (FA) in the left and
right SLF in 12 young adult patients with recent-onset schizophrenia and 17 matched
control subjects.
Results
Schizophrenia patients showed lower FA values than control subjects across the entire
SLF, with particular deficits on the left SLF. Fractional anisotropy values were correlated
with performance on a verbal WM task in both patient and control groups in the left
but not right SLF.
Conclusions
Recent-onset schizophrenia patients show deficits in frontal-parietal connections,
key components of WM circuitry. Moreover, the integrity of this physiological connection
predicted performance on a verbal WM task, indicating that this structural change
may have important functional implications. These findings support the view that schizophrenia
is a disorder of brain connectivity and implicate white matter changes detectable
in the early phases of the illness as one source of this dysfunction.
Key Words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: August 28, 2007
Accepted:
June 14,
2007
Received in revised form:
June 12,
2007
Received:
March 20,
2007
Identification
Copyright
© 2008 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
