Cortical Microstructural Changes in Patients with First-Episode Psychosis: A Diffusion Kurtosis Study
Poster B46, Friday, October 21, 11:30 am - 1:00 pm, Le Baron
Kang Ik Kevin Cho1,2, Tae Young Lee2, Kyung Ok Lim3, Ji Won Hur4, Minah Kim2,5, Sung Nyun Kim2,5, Jun Soo Kwon1,2,5; 1Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, College of Natural Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea, 2Institute of Human Behavioral Medicine, SNU-MRC, Seoul, Republic of Korea, 3Department of Neuropsychiatry, Seoul National University Hospital, 4Department of Psychology, College of Social Sciences, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea, 5Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Reports from post-mortem studies of microstructural disruptions in the gray matter of individuals with schizophrenia have revealed various abnormalities, such as reductions in somal size and dendritic arborization and length. However, it has been difficult to infer the timing, pattern and locations of the microstructural changes in schizophrenia due to the limitations of post-mortem and conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) methods. To clarify this gap in knowledge, the microstructural complexity of the cortex in subjects diagnosed with first-episode psychosis (FEP) was compared to healthy controls using the diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) technique, a relatively new MRI sequence. A total of 37 patients with FEP and 36 matched healthy controls underwent DKI to examine the microstructural complexity in the cortex. The cortical mean kurtosis that represents the microstructural complexity was compared between the groups. The mean kurtosis was significantly reduced bilaterally in the frontal and temporal cortices and in the right occipital cortex in FEP compared to healthy controls. Our results not only highlight the location and pattern of microstructural changes in schizophrenia but specifically note that microstructural anomalies already exist and are detectable in individuals with FEP.
Topic Area: Neuroimaging