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Anterior cingulate morphology in people at genetic high-risk of schizophrenia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 April 2020

S.M. Meredith ,
N.C.A. Whyler ,
A.C. Stanfield ,
G. Chakirova ,
T.W.J. Moorhead ,
D.E. Job ,
S. Giles ,
A.M. McIntosh ,
E.C. Johnstone  and
S.M. Lawrie
S.M. Meredith
Affiliation:
Division of Psychiatry, University of Edinburgh, Kennedy Tower, Royal Edinburgh Hospital, EH10 5HF Edinburgh, United Kingdom
N.C.A. Whyler
Affiliation:
Division of Psychiatry, University of Edinburgh, Kennedy Tower, Royal Edinburgh Hospital, EH10 5HF Edinburgh, United Kingdom
A.C. Stanfield
Affiliation:
Division of Psychiatry, University of Edinburgh, Kennedy Tower, Royal Edinburgh Hospital, EH10 5HF Edinburgh, United Kingdom
G. Chakirova*
Affiliation:
Division of Psychiatry, University of Edinburgh, Kennedy Tower, Royal Edinburgh Hospital, EH10 5HF Edinburgh, United Kingdom
T.W.J. Moorhead
Affiliation:
Division of Psychiatry, University of Edinburgh, Kennedy Tower, Royal Edinburgh Hospital, EH10 5HF Edinburgh, United Kingdom
D.E. Job
Affiliation:
Division of Psychiatry, University of Edinburgh, Kennedy Tower, Royal Edinburgh Hospital, EH10 5HF Edinburgh, United Kingdom
S. Giles
Affiliation:
Division of Psychiatry, University of Edinburgh, Kennedy Tower, Royal Edinburgh Hospital, EH10 5HF Edinburgh, United Kingdom
A.M. McIntosh
Affiliation:
Division of Psychiatry, University of Edinburgh, Kennedy Tower, Royal Edinburgh Hospital, EH10 5HF Edinburgh, United Kingdom
E.C. Johnstone
Affiliation:
Division of Psychiatry, University of Edinburgh, Kennedy Tower, Royal Edinburgh Hospital, EH10 5HF Edinburgh, United Kingdom
S.M. Lawrie
Affiliation:
Division of Psychiatry, University of Edinburgh, Kennedy Tower, Royal Edinburgh Hospital, EH10 5HF Edinburgh, United Kingdom
*
*Corresponding author. Tel.: +44 131 537 6656. E-mail address: G.Chakirova@sms.ed.ac.uk (G. Chakirova).
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Abstract

Background

Morphological abnormalities of the anterior cingulate (AC) occur in patients with schizophrenia and in symptomatic high-risk individuals, and may be predictive of subsequent psychosis. We investigated AC sulcal morphology in the Edinburgh High Risk Study cohort to see if such abnormalities are evident and predict psychosis in patients’ relatives. We also investigated the association of the cingulate sulcus (CS) and paracingulate sulcus (PCS) variants with intelligence quotient (IQ).

Patients and methods

We compared cingulate and paracingulate sulcal anatomy, using reliable standardised measurements, blind to group membership, in those at high genetic risk (n = 146), first episode patients (n = 34) and healthy controls (n = 36); and compared high-risk subjects who did (n = 17) or did not develop schizophrenia.

Results

Interruptions of the cingulate sulcus were more common in high-risk individuals and in those with schizophrenia, in both hemispheres, compared to controls. When separated by gender, these results were only present in males in the left hemisphere and only in females in the right hemisphere. A well-formed paracingulate sulcus was less common in high-risk participants and patients with schizophrenia, compared to controls; but this association was only present in males. These morphological variants of the paracingulate sulcus and the continuous cingulate sulcus were also associated with the higher IQ in male high-risk individuals.

Conclusions

An interrupted cingulate sulcus pattern in both males and females and paracingulate morphology in males are associated with increased genetic risk of schizophrenia. Associations between cingulate and paracingulate morphology and premorbid IQ scores provide evidence that intellectual ability could be related to particular cytoarchitectural brain regions. Given that these sulci develop in early fetal life, such findings presumably reflect early neurodevelopmental abnormalities of genetic origin, although environmental effects and interactions cannot be ruled out.

Keywords

NeuroimagingSchizophreniaHigh-riskAnterior cingulateParacingulateIntelligence quotient
Type
Original articles
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 27 , Issue 5 , July 2012 , pp. 377 - 385
Copyright
Copyright © Elsevier Masson SAS 2012

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