Gray Matter Volumes and Psychopathological Syndromes
In a study, investigators aimed to recognize gray matter volume (GMV) correlates of transdiagnostic symptom dimensions. The link between 5 psychopathological factors with GMV were tested with various regression models in patients who met the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) criteria (N = 1069) for major depressive disorder (n = 818), bipolar disorder (n = 132), and schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder (n = 119). Using 3-Tesla magnetic resonance imaging and preprocessed with CAT12, T1- weighted brain images were captured. Investigators also additionally tested syndrome specific regions of interest (ROIs).
A considerable negative association was found through whole brain analysis with the positive formal thought disorder factor with GMV in the right middle frontal gyrus, the paranoid-hallucinatory syndrome in the right fusiform, and the left middle frontal gyri. Through the ROI analyses, further negative associations were found, and none of the GMV relations interacted with DSM-IV diagnosis. Researchers concluded that their findings of the relations between psychopathological syndromes and regional GMV to be independent of diagnosis, open new areas of neurobiological research among disorders that use syndrome-based approaches.
Reference: Stein F, Meller T, Brosch K, et al. Psychopathological Syndromes Across Affective and Psychotic Disorders Correlate With Gray Matter Volumes. Schizophr Bull. 2021;47(6):1740-1750. doi:10.1093/schbul/sbab037
