Cortical Thickness Abnormalities in Patients with First Episode Psychosis: a Meta-analysis of Psychoradiologic Studies and Replication in an Independent Sample

Overview

Journal Psychoradiology

Publisher Oxford University Press

Date 2022 Feb 14

PMID 35156043

Authors

Keren Wen

Youjin Zhao

Qiyong Gong

Ziyu Zhu

Qian Li

Nanfang Pan

Shiqin Fu

Joaquim Radua

Eduard Vieta

Poornima Kumar

Graham J Kemp

Bharat B Biswal

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: Abnormalities of cortical thickness (CTh) in patients with their first episode psychosis (FEP) have been frequently reported, but findings are inconsistent.

Objective: To define the most consistent CTh changes in patients with FEP by meta-analysis of published whole-brain studies.

Methods: The meta-analysis used seed-based d mapping (SDM) software to obtain the most prominent regional CTh changes in FEP, and meta-regression analyses to explore the effects of demographics and clinical characteristics. The meta-analysis results were verified in an independent sample of 142 FEP patients and 142 age- and sex-matched healthy controls (HCs), using both a vertex-wise and a region of interest analysis, with multiple comparisons correction.

Results: The meta-analysis identified lower CTh in the right middle temporal cortex (MTC) extending to superior temporal cortex (STC), insula, and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) in FEP compared with HCs. No significant correlations were identified between CTh alterations and demographic or clinical variables. These results were replicated in the independent dataset analysis.

Conclusion: This study identifies a robust pattern of cortical abnormalities in FEP and extends understanding of gray matter abnormalities and pathological mechanisms in FEP.

Citing Articles

Machine learning-based prediction of antipsychotic efficacy from brain gray matter structure in drug-naive first-episode schizophrenia.

Guo X, Zhou E, Wang X, Huang B, Gao T, Pu C Schizophrenia (Heidelb). 2025; 11(1):11.

PMID: 39893207 PMC: 11787389. DOI: 10.1038/s41537-025-00557-6.

Brain Age Gap in Early Illness Schizophrenia and the Clinical High-Risk Syndrome: Associations With Experiential Negative Symptoms and Conversion to Psychosis.

Hua J, Abram S, Loewy R, Stuart B, Fryer S, Vinogradov S Schizophr Bull. 2024; 50(5):1159-1170.

PMID: 38815987 PMC: 11349027. DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbae074.

Identify Potential Causal Relationships Between Cortical Thickness, Mismatch Negativity, Neurocognition, and Psychosocial Functioning in Drug-Naïve First-Episode Psychosis Patients.

Li X, Wei W, Wang Q, Deng W, Li M, Ma X Schizophr Bull. 2024; 50(4):827-838.

PMID: 38635296 PMC: 11283193. DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbae026.

Impaired Cortico-Thalamo-Cerebellar Integration Across Schizophrenia, Bipolar II, and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Patients Suggests Potential Neural Signatures for Psychiatric Illness.

Hudgins S, Curtin A, Tracy J, Ayaz H Res Sq. 2024; .

PMID: 38586053 PMC: 10996788. DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4145883/v1.

Sleep Traits Causally Affect the Brain Cortical Structure: A Mendelian Randomization Study.

Chen Y, Lyu S, Xiao W, Yi S, Liu P, Liu J Biomedicines. 2023; 11(8).

PMID: 37626792 PMC: 10452307. DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines11082296.

References

Kimmel C, Alhassoon O, Wollman S, Stern M, Perez-Figueroa A, Hall M . Age-related parieto-occipital and other gray matter changes in borderline personality disorder: A meta-analysis of cortical and subcortical structures. Psychiatry Res Neuroimaging. 2016; 251:15-25. DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2016.04.005. View

Chudleigh C, Naismith S, Blaszczynski A, Hermens D, Hodge M, Hickie I . How does social functioning in the early stages of psychosis relate to depression and social anxiety?. Early Interv Psychiatry. 2011; 5(3):224-32. DOI: 10.1111/j.1751-7893.2011.00280.x. View

Schober P, Boer C, Schwarte L . Correlation Coefficients: Appropriate Use and Interpretation. Anesth Analg. 2018; 126(5):1763-1768. DOI: 10.1213/ANE.0000000000002864. View

de Kovel C, Aftanas L, Aleman A, Alexander-Bloch A, Baune B, Brack I . No Alterations of Brain Structural Asymmetry in Major Depressive Disorder: An ENIGMA Consortium Analysis. Am J Psychiatry. 2019; 176(12):1039-1049. DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2019.18101144. View

Sowell E, Thompson P, Leonard C, Welcome S, Kan E, Toga A . Longitudinal mapping of cortical thickness and brain growth in normal children. J Neurosci. 2004; 24(38):8223-31. PMC: 6729679. DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1798-04.2004. View

Allen P, Laroi F, McGuire P, Aleman A . The hallucinating brain: a review of structural and functional neuroimaging studies of hallucinations. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2007; 32(1):175-91. DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2007.07.012. View

Oertel-Knochel V, Knochel C, Rotarska-Jagiela A, Reinke B, Prvulovic D, Haenschel C . Association between psychotic symptoms and cortical thickness reduction across the schizophrenia spectrum. Cereb Cortex. 2012; 23(1):61-70. DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhr380. View

Downar J, Crawley A, Mikulis D, Davis K . A multimodal cortical network for the detection of changes in the sensory environment. Nat Neurosci. 2000; 3(3):277-83. DOI: 10.1038/72991. View

Simon G, Stewart C, Yarborough B, Lynch F, Coleman K, Beck A . Mortality Rates After the First Diagnosis of Psychotic Disorder in Adolescents and Young Adults. JAMA Psychiatry. 2018; 75(3):254-260. PMC: 5885951. DOI: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2017.4437. View

10.

Wylie K, Tregellas J . The role of the insula in schizophrenia. Schizophr Res. 2010; 123(2-3):93-104. PMC: 2957503. DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2010.08.027. View

11.

Ghasemi A, Zahediasl S . Normality tests for statistical analysis: a guide for non-statisticians. Int J Endocrinol Metab. 2013; 10(2):486-9. PMC: 3693611. DOI: 10.5812/ijem.3505. View

12.

Shah C, Zhang W, Xiao Y, Yao L, Zhao Y, Gao X . Common pattern of gray-matter abnormalities in drug-naive and medicated first-episode schizophrenia: a multimodal meta-analysis. Psychol Med. 2016; 47(3):401-413. DOI: 10.1017/S0033291716002683. View

13.

Canal-Rivero M, Tordesillas-Gutierrez D, Ruiz-Veguilla M, Ortiz-Garcia de la Foz V, Cuevas-Esteban J, Marco De Lucas E . Brain grey matter abnormalities in first episode non-affective psychosis patients with suicidal behaviours: The role of neurocognitive functioning. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 2020; 102:109948. DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2020.109948. View

14.

Fusar-Poli P, Meyer-Lindenberg A . Striatal presynaptic dopamine in schizophrenia, Part I: meta-analysis of dopamine active transporter (DAT) density. Schizophr Bull. 2012; 39(1):22-32. PMC: 3523907. DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbr111. View

15.

Grant C, Addington J, Addington D, Konnert C . Social functioning in first- and multiepisode schizophrenia. Can J Psychiatry. 2001; 46(8):746-9. DOI: 10.1177/070674370104600808. View

16.

Nasrallah H . The unintegrated right cerebral hemispheric consciousness as alien intruder: a possible mechanism for Schneiderian delusions in schizophrenia. Compr Psychiatry. 1985; 26(3):273-82. DOI: 10.1016/0010-440x(85)90072-0. View

17.

Keramatian K, Chakrabarty T, Saraf G, Pinto J, Yatham L . Grey matter abnormalities in first-episode mania: A systematic review and meta-analysis of voxel-based morphometry studies. Bipolar Disord. 2020; 23(3):228-240. DOI: 10.1111/bdi.12995. View

18.

Hutton C, De Vita E, Ashburner J, Deichmann R, Turner R . Voxel-based cortical thickness measurements in MRI. Neuroimage. 2008; 40(4):1701-10. PMC: 2330066. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2008.01.027. View

19.

Konrad A, Winterer G . Disturbed structural connectivity in schizophrenia primary factor in pathology or epiphenomenon?. Schizophr Bull. 2007; 34(1):72-92. PMC: 2632386. DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbm034. View

20.

Fusar-Poli P, Smieskova R, Serafini G, Politi P, Borgwardt S . Neuroanatomical markers of genetic liability to psychosis and first episode psychosis: a voxelwise meta-analytical comparison. World J Biol Psychiatry. 2012; 15(3):219-28. DOI: 10.3109/15622975.2011.630408. View