Spatial relationships of neuroanatomic landmarks in schizophrenia

doi:10.1016/0925-4927(96)02733-3

Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging

Volume 67, Issue 1, 31 May 1996, Pages 81-95

https://doi.org/10.1016/0925-4927(96)02733-3 Get rights and content

Abstract

Tho new morphometric techniques, landmark-based shape analysis and landmark-based image averaging, were applied to magnetic resonance images (MRIs) to investigate the sites and extent of structural neuropathology in schizophrenia. These analyses allow the identification of averaged anatomy through joint registration on multiple landmarks simultaneously. MRI scans obtained in the midsagittal plane were compared between 14 patients with schizophrenia and 14 normal subjects. The relation between averaged landmark configuration in the two groups was visualized as a deformation. There we no large-scale shape abnormalities noted, although the patients had significantly smaller brains. The data suggest that the neuroanatomic abnormality associated with schizophrenia, in the midsagittal plane, is circumscribed (focal), involving primarily the region of the posterior corpus callosum, upper brainstem, and quadrigeminal cistern. Also, the thickness of the corpus callosum is reduced all along its length. The findings are consistent with prior studies suggesting involvement in schizophrenia of the cerebellum, the corpus callosum and, possibly, the limbic structures contributing to the corpus callosum. The methods of image averaging and shape analysis used in this study complement the ‘region of interest’ method of investigating morphometric abnormalities by characterizing the precise locations and spatial relationships among relevant structural brain abnormalities in schizophrenia.

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Morphometrics, a branch of morphology, represents the study of size and shape components of biological form and their variation in the population. Assessment of optic disc morphology is essential in the diagnosis and management of many ophthalmic disorders. Much work has been performed to characterize size-related parameters of the optic disc; however, limited information is available on shape variation in the general population. In contrast to optic disc or cup sizes, which are conceptually meaningful variables with a defined unit of measurement, there are few metric constructs by which to quantify, visualize and interpret variation in optic disc or cup shape. This has significance in ophthalmic diseases with a genetic basis as recent evidence has suggested that optic disc shape may be heritable. Conventional optic disc shape measures of ‘ovality’ and ‘form-factor’ reduce a complex structure to a single number and eliminate information of potential diagnostic relevance from further analyses. The recent advent of ‘geometric morphometrics’, a branch of statistics that incorporates tools from geometry, biometrics and computer graphics in the quantitative analysis of biological forms, has enabled spatial relationships in shape data to be retained during analysis. The analytical methods employed in geometric morphometrics can be separated into two distinct groups: landmark-based (e.g. Procrustes analysis, thin-plate splines) and boundary outline techniques (e.g. Fourier analysis). In this review, we summarize current approaches to the study of optic disc morphology, discuss the underlying theory of geometric morphometrics within the context of analytical techniques and then explore the contemporary relevance of the subject matter to several biological fields. Finally we illustrate the potential application of geometric morphometrics to the specific problem of optic disc shape and glaucoma assessment.
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El cuerpo calloso desempeña un papel fundamental en la transferencia y la integración interhemisférica de la información. En los estudios en que se ha utilizado resonancia magnética se han documentado anomalías de esta estructura en pacientes con esquizofrenia, pero los hallazgos han sido heterogéneos. La incertidumbre ha persistido a pesar de una evaluación metaanalítica de la estructura efectuada algunos años atrás. El objetivo del presente estudio es efectuar un metaanálisis complementario con la adición de los numerosos artículos publicados sobre el tema para probar la hipótesis de las anomalías del cuerpo calloso en esta enfermedad.
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Se identificaron 28 estudios. En comparación con los voluntarios sanos, en los pacientes con esquizofrenia se observó una disminución de la región del cuerpo calloso. Este efecto fue de mayor magnitud en pacientes con un primer episodio. De forma parecida, la heterogeneidad detectada entre estudios se asoció con el curso de la enfermedad, indicio de que en los pacientes con esquizofrenia crónica las áreas callosas eran más extensas. No se evidenció un sesgo de publicación.
El presente estudio confirma la existencia de una disminución de las áreas callosas en la esquizofrenia. El efecto es de mayor magnitud en la primera presentación y menor en pacientes con un curso crónico, en general tratados con antipsicóticos.
The corpus callosum plays a pivotal role in inter-hemispheric transfer and integration of information. Magnetic resonance studies have reported callosal abnormalities in schizophrenia but findings have been inconsistent. Uncertainty has persisted despite a meta-analytic evaluation of this structure several years ago. We set out to perform a further meta-analysis with the addition of the numerous reports published on the subject to test the hypothesis that the corpus callosum is abnormal in schizophrenia.
A systematic search was carried out to identify suitable magnetic resonance studies which reported callosal areas in schizophrenia compared to controls. Results from the retrieved studies were compared in a meta-analysis whilst the influence of biological and clinical variables on effect size was ascertained with meta-regression analysis.
Twenty-eight studies were identified. Corpus callosum area was reduced in schizophrenia in comparison to healthy volunteers. This effect was larger in first episode patients. Similarly, heterogeneity detected among the studies was associated with course of illness indicating that chronic subjects with schizophrenia showed larger callosal areas. There was no evidence of publication bias.
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Spatial relationships of neuroanatomic landmarks in schizophrenia

Abstract

Biol Psychiatry

Biol Psychiatry

Biol Psychiatry

Thalamic abnormalities in schizophrenia visualiazed through magnetic resonance image averaging

Science

Structural abnormalities in the frontal system in schizophrenia: a magnetic resonance imaging study

Arch Gen Psychiatry

Ventricular enlargement in schizophrenia: relationship to positive and negative symptoms

Am J Psychiatry

Auditory hallucinations and smaller superior temporal gyrus volume in schizophrenia

Am J Psychiatry

Principal warps: thin-plate splines and the decomposition of deformations

IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence

Morphometric Tools for Landmark Data. Geometry and Biology

Thin-plate splines and the atlas problem for biomedical images

A brief history of the morphometric synthesis

The morphometric synthesis: a brief history

Combining the tools of geometric morphometrics

Edgewarp: A flexible program package for biometric image warping in two dimensions

Magnetic resonance brain imaging in schizophrenia

Schizophrenia as an anomaly of development of cerebral asymmetry

Arch Gen Psychiatry

Reduction in temporal lobe size in siblings with schizophrenia: a magnetic resonance imaging study

Psychiatry Res Neuroimaging

Magnetic resonance brain images in schizophrenic and normal subjects: influence of diagnosis and education

Schizophr Bull

Procrustes methods in the statistical analysis of shape

Journal of the Royal Statistical Society