TY - JOUR
T1 - Cigarette smoking and white matter microstructure in schizophrenia
AU - Cullen, Kathryn R.
AU - Wallace, Stuart
AU - Magnotta, Vincent A.
AU - Bockholt, Jeremy
AU - Ehrlich, Stefan
AU - Gollub, Randy L.
AU - Manoach, Dara S.
AU - Ho, Beng C.
AU - Clark, Vincent P.
AU - Lauriello, John
AU - Bustillo, Juan R.
AU - Schulz, S. Charles
AU - Andreasen, Nancy C.
AU - Calhoun, Vince D.
AU - Lim, Kelvin O.
AU - White, Tonya
PY - 2012/2/28
Y1 - 2012/2/28
N2 - The majority of patients with schizophrenia smoke cigarettes. Both nicotine use and schizophrenia have been associated with alterations in brain white matter microstructure as measured by diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). The purpose of this study was to examine fractional anisotropy (FA) in smoking and non-smoking patients with schizophrenia and in healthy volunteers. A total of 43 patients (28 smoking and 15 non-smoking) with schizophrenia and 40 healthy, non-smoking participants underwent DTI. Mean FA was calculated in four global regions of interest (ROIs) (whole brain, cerebellum, brainstem, and total cortical) as well as in four regional ROIs (frontal, temporal, parietal and occipital lobes). The non-smoking patient group had a significantly higher intellectual quotient (IQ) compared with the patients who smoked, and our results varied according to whether IQ was included as a covariate. Without IQ correction, significant between-group effects for FA were found in four ROIs: total brain, total cortical, frontal lobe and the occipital lobe. In all cases the FA was lower among the smoking patient group, and highest in the control group. Smoking patients differed significantly from non-smoking patients in the frontal lobe ROI. However, these differences were no longer significant after IQ correction. FA differences between non-smoking patients and controls were not significant. Among smoking and non-smoking patients with schizophrenia but not healthy controls, FA was correlated with IQ. In conclusion, group effects of smoking on FA in schizophrenia might be mediated by IQ. Further, low FA in specific brain areas may be a neural marker for complex pathophysiology and risk for diverse problems such as schizophrenia, low IQ, and nicotine addiction.
AB - The majority of patients with schizophrenia smoke cigarettes. Both nicotine use and schizophrenia have been associated with alterations in brain white matter microstructure as measured by diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). The purpose of this study was to examine fractional anisotropy (FA) in smoking and non-smoking patients with schizophrenia and in healthy volunteers. A total of 43 patients (28 smoking and 15 non-smoking) with schizophrenia and 40 healthy, non-smoking participants underwent DTI. Mean FA was calculated in four global regions of interest (ROIs) (whole brain, cerebellum, brainstem, and total cortical) as well as in four regional ROIs (frontal, temporal, parietal and occipital lobes). The non-smoking patient group had a significantly higher intellectual quotient (IQ) compared with the patients who smoked, and our results varied according to whether IQ was included as a covariate. Without IQ correction, significant between-group effects for FA were found in four ROIs: total brain, total cortical, frontal lobe and the occipital lobe. In all cases the FA was lower among the smoking patient group, and highest in the control group. Smoking patients differed significantly from non-smoking patients in the frontal lobe ROI. However, these differences were no longer significant after IQ correction. FA differences between non-smoking patients and controls were not significant. Among smoking and non-smoking patients with schizophrenia but not healthy controls, FA was correlated with IQ. In conclusion, group effects of smoking on FA in schizophrenia might be mediated by IQ. Further, low FA in specific brain areas may be a neural marker for complex pathophysiology and risk for diverse problems such as schizophrenia, low IQ, and nicotine addiction.
KW - Diffusion tensor imaging
KW - Fractional anisotropy
KW - Nicotine
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U2 - 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2011.08.010
DO - 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2011.08.010
M3 - Article
C2 - 22386966
AN - SCOPUS:84859000179
SN - 0925-4927
VL - 201
SP - 152
EP - 158
JO - Psychiatry Research - Neuroimaging
JF - Psychiatry Research - Neuroimaging
IS - 2
ER -