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Less reduced gray matter volume in the subregions of superior temporal gyrus predicts better treatment efficacy in drug-naive, first-episode schizophrenia

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Abstract

Decreased gray matter volume (GMV) in the superior temporal gyrus (STG) has been implicated in the neurophysiology of schizophrenia. However, it remains unclear whether volumetric reduction in the subregions of the STG can predict treatment efficacy for schizophrenia. Our cohort included 44 drug-naive, first-episode patients, 42 unaffected siblings and 44 healthy controls. Voxel-based morphometry and pattern classification were utilized to analyze the acquired imaging data as per the anatomical subdivision by a well-defined brainnetome atlas. The patients presented lower GMV values in left TE1.0/1.2 (TE, anterior temporal visual association area) than the siblings, and lower GMV values in the left/right TE1.0/1.2 and left A22r (rostral area 22) than the controls. A positive correlation is observed between the GMV values in the right A38l (lateral area 38) and baseline Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) total scores in the patients. Support vector regression (SVR) results exhibited a significant association between predicted (based on the GMV values in the right A38l) and actual symptomatic improvement based on the reduction ratio of the PANSS total scores (r = 0.498, p = 0.001). Our results suggest that normal structure in the right A38l of the STG may be an important factor indicative of the effects of antipsychotic drugs, which can be potentially used to monitor drug effects for first-episode patients at an early stage in clinical practice.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank all individuals who served as the research participants.

Funding

This study was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 81630033 and 81771447), the National Key R & D Program of China (Grant Nos. 2016YFC1307100 and 2016YFC1306900), and the Natural Science Foundation of Tianjin (Grant No. 18JCQNJC10900).

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Author notes

  1. Cui and Deng contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychaitry, National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, 410011, China

    Xilong Cui, Qijian Deng, Bing Lang, Jindong Chen, Jingping Zhao & Wenbin Guo

  2. Mental Health Center, the Second Affiliated Hospital, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi, 530007, China

    Qinji Su & Zhikun Zhang

  3. Department of Radiology, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China

    Feng Liu

  4. The Third People’s Hospital of Foshan, Foshan, Guangdong, 528000, China

    Wenbin Guo

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  1. Xilong Cui
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Contributions

Drs. Guo W and Zhao J designed the study. Drs. Guo W, Chen J, Su Q, Zhang Z, Cui X, and Zhao J collected the original imaging data. Drs. Guo W and Liu F managed and analyzed the imaging data. Drs. Guo W, Cui X, Deng Q, and Lang B wrote the first draft of the manuscript. All the authors contributed to and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Wenbin Guo.

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Cui, X., Deng, Q., Lang, B. et al. Less reduced gray matter volume in the subregions of superior temporal gyrus predicts better treatment efficacy in drug-naive, first-episode schizophrenia. Brain Imaging and Behavior 15, 1997–2004 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11682-020-00393-5

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