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Formal thought disorder is related to aberrations in language-related white matter tracts in patients with schizophrenia.
Journal article

Formal thought disorder is related to aberrations in language-related white matter tracts in patients with schizophrenia.

  • Cavelti M Translational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Bern 60 3000 Switzerland; Orygen, The National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health & Centre for Youth Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia. Electronic address: marialuisa.cavelti@upd.unibe.ch.
  • Winkelbeiner S Translational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Bern 60 3000 Switzerland.
  • Federspiel A Translational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Bern 60 3000 Switzerland.
  • Walther S Translational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Bern 60 3000 Switzerland.
  • Stegmayer K Translational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Bern 60 3000 Switzerland.
  • Giezendanner S Centre for Primary Health Care, University of Basel, Liestal 4410, Switzerland.
  • Laimböck K Translational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Bern 60 3000 Switzerland.
  • Dierks T Translational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Bern 60 3000 Switzerland.
  • Strik W Translational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Bern 60 3000 Switzerland.
  • Horn H Translational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Bern 60 3000 Switzerland; Institute for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy Bern, Waisenhausplatz 25, Bern 3011, Switzerland.
  • Homan P Translational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Bern 60 3000 Switzerland; Center for Psychiatric Neuroscience, The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
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  • 2018-06-05
Published in:
  • Psychiatry research. Neuroimaging. - 2018
Arcuate fasciculus (AF)
Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI)
Fractional anisotropy (FA)
inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus (IFOF)
inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF)
psychosis
superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF)
uncinate fasciculus (UF)
Adult
Anisotropy
Diffusion Tensor Imaging
Female
Frontal Lobe
Humans
Language
Male
Middle Aged
Nerve Net
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenic Psychology
Temporal Lobe
Thinking
White Matter
Young Adult
English This study examined the hypothesis that a fronto-temporal disconnection in the language network underpins formal thought disorder (FTD) in schizophrenia. Forty-nine patients with a schizophrenia spectrum disorder (27 with mild FTD, 22 with severe FTD) and 26 healthy controls (HC) were included. Overall psychopathology and FTD were assessed by the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale and the Thought, Language, and Communication scale, respectively. White matter (WM) microstructure was analysed using Tract-Based Spatial Statistics. In patients, severity of overall FTD (TLC Sum Score) was predicted by decreased fractional anisotropy (FA) in the right superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF), and severity of negative FTD (TLC Emptiness subscale) was predicted by increased FA in the left SLF and arcuate fasciculus (AF). Notably, these results were no longer significant after correction for multiple comparisons. Compared with HC, patients showed lower FA in all the investigated language-related WM tracts as well as across the whole WM skeleton. No difference in FA was found between patients with severe and patients with mild FTD. Our results are compatible with earlier studies reporting impairments in widely spread WM tracts including those related to language processing in patients with schizophrenia.
Language
  • English
Open access status
closed
Identifiers
Persistent URL
https://sonar.ch/global/documents/201542
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