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Auditory verbal hallucinations are related to cortical thinning in the left middle temporal gyrus of patients with schizophrenia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 June 2017

Y. Cui ,
B. Liu ,
M. Song ,
D. M. Lipnicki ,
J. Li ,
S. Xie ,
Y. Chen ,
P. Li ,
L. Lu ,
L. Lv ,
H. Wang ,
H. Yan ,
J. Yan ,
H. Zhang ,
D. Zhang  and
T. Jiang
Y. Cui
Affiliation:
Brainnetome Center, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China National Laboratory of Pattern Recognition, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
B. Liu
Affiliation:
Brainnetome Center, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China National Laboratory of Pattern Recognition, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
M. Song
Affiliation:
Brainnetome Center, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China National Laboratory of Pattern Recognition, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
D. M. Lipnicki
Affiliation:
CHeBA (Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing), School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Randwick, NSW, Australia
J. Li
Affiliation:
Brainnetome Center, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China National Laboratory of Pattern Recognition, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
S. Xie
Affiliation:
Brainnetome Center, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China National Laboratory of Pattern Recognition, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Y. Chen
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Xijing Hospital, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China
P. Li
Affiliation:
Peking University Sixth Hospital/Institute of Mental Health, Beijing, China Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Ministry of Health (Peking University), Beijing, China
L. Lu
Affiliation:
Peking University Sixth Hospital/Institute of Mental Health, Beijing, China Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Ministry of Health (Peking University), Beijing, China Center for Life Sciences/PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Beijing, China
L. Lv
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Henan Mental Hospital, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, China Henan Key Lab of Biological Psychiatry, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, China
H. Wang
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Xijing Hospital, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China
H. Yan
Affiliation:
Peking University Sixth Hospital/Institute of Mental Health, Beijing, China Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Ministry of Health (Peking University), Beijing, China
J. Yan
Affiliation:
Peking University Sixth Hospital/Institute of Mental Health, Beijing, China Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Ministry of Health (Peking University), Beijing, China
H. Zhang
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Henan Mental Hospital, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, China Henan Key Lab of Biological Psychiatry, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, China Department of Psychology, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, China
D. Zhang
Affiliation:
Peking University Sixth Hospital/Institute of Mental Health, Beijing, China Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Ministry of Health (Peking University), Beijing, China Center for Life Sciences/PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Beijing, China
T. Jiang
Affiliation:
Brainnetome Center, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China National Laboratory of Pattern Recognition, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China Queensland Brain Institute, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
Corresponding
E-mail address:
jiangtz@nlpr.ia.ac.cn
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Abstract

Background

Auditory verbal hallucinations (AVHs) are one of the most common and severe symptoms of schizophrenia, but the neuroanatomical abnormalities underlying AVHs are not well understood. The present study aims to investigate whether AVHs are associated with cortical thinning.

Methods

Participants were schizophrenia patients from four centers across China, 115 with AVHs and 93 without AVHs, as well as 261 healthy controls. All received 3 T T1-weighted brain scans, and whole brain vertex-wise cortical thickness was compared across groups. Correlations between AVH severity and cortical thickness were also determined.

Results

The left middle part of the middle temporal gyrus (MTG) was significantly thinner in schizophrenia patients with AVHs than in patients without AVHs and healthy controls. Inferences were made using a false discovery rate approach with a threshold at p < 0.05. Left MTG thickness did not differ between patients without AVHs and controls. These results were replicated by a meta-analysis showing them to be consistent across the four centers. Cortical thickness of the left MTG was also found to be inversely correlated with hallucination severity across all schizophrenia patients.

Conclusion

The results of this multi-center study suggest that an abnormally thin left MTG could be involved in the pathogenesis of AVHs in schizophrenia.

Keywords

Auditory verbal hallucination cortical thickness magnetic resonance imaging middle temporal gyrus schizophrenia
Type
Original Articles
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 48 , Issue 1 , January 2018 , pp. 115 - 122
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2017 

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