Local Alterations of Left Arcuate Fasciculus and Transcallosal White Matter Microstructure in Schizophrenia Patients with Medication-resistant Auditory Verbal Hallucinations: A Pilot Study. (15th December 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Thomas, Fanny; Gallea, Cécile; Moulier, Virginie; Bouaziz, Noomane; Valero-Cabré, Antoni; Januel, Dominique
• Is Part Of: Neuroscience. Volume 507(2022)
• Page Start: 1
• Page End: 13
• Publication Date: 2022-12-15
• Subjects: Schizophrenia -- auditory verbal hallucinations -- tractography -- left arcuate fasciculus -- transcallosal pathway; AHRS Auditory Hallucinations Rating Scale -- AVH Auditory verbal hallucinations -- FA Fractional anisotropy -- fMRI functional magnetic resonance imaging -- MRI Magnetic resonance imaging -- PANSS Positive And Negative Syndrome Scale -- ROI Region of interest -- rTMS repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation -- SZ schizophrenia spectrum disorders; Neurochemistry -- Periodicals; Neurophysiology -- Periodicals; Neurology -- Periodicals; Neurochimie -- Périodiques; Neurophysiologie -- Périodiques; Neurochemistry; Neurophysiology; Electronic journals; Periodicals; Electronic journals; 612.8
• DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2022.10.027
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0306-4522

Abstract

Highlights: FA measures was estimated along three tracts in schizophrenia patients with AVH. Patients had focal abnormalities of the left arcuate fasciculus. Patients had focal alterations of the rostral and caudal interhemispheric pathways. Alterations in the arcuate fasciculus are linked to the AVH's attentional salience. Our results point out the value of studying site-specific white matter bundles. Abstract: Auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH) in schizophrenia (SZ) have been associated with abnormalities of the left arcuate fasciculus and transcallosal white matter projections linking homologous language areas of both hemispheres. While most studies have used a whole-tract approach, here we focused on analyzing local alterations of the above-mentioned pathways in SZ patients suffering medication-resistant AVH. Fractional anisotropy (FA) was estimated along the left arcuate fasciculus and interhemispheric projections of the rostral and caudal corpus callosum. Then, potential associations between white matter tracts and SZ symptoms were explored by correlating local site-by-site FA values and AVH severity estimated via the Auditory Hallucinations Rating Scale (AHRS). Compared to a sample of healthy controls, SZ patients displayed lower FA values in the rostral portion of the left arcuate fasciculus, near the frontal operculum, and in the left and right lateral regions of the rostral portion of the transcallosal pathways. In contrast, SZ patients showed higher FA values than healthy controls in the medial portion of the latter transcallosal pathway and in the midsagittal section of the interhemispheric auditory pathway. Finally, significant correlations were found between local FA values in the left arcuate fasciculus and the severity of the AVH's attentional salience. Contributing to the study of associations between local white matter alterations of language networks and SZ symptoms, our findings highlight local alterations of white matter integrity in these pathways linking language areas in SZ patients with AVH. We also hypothesize a link between the left arcuate fasciculus and the attentional capture of AVH.