Rare coding variants in ten genes confer substantial risk for schizophrenia.

Rare coding variation has historically provided the most direct connections between gene function and disease pathogenesis. By meta-analysing the whole exomes of 24,248 schizophrenia cases and 97,322 controls, we implicate ultra-rare coding variants (URVs) in 10 genes as conferring substantial risk for schizophrenia (odds ratios of 3-50, P < 2.14 × 10-6) and 32 genes at a false discovery rate of <5%. These genes have the greatest expression in central nervous system neurons and have diverse molecular functions that include the formation, structure and function of the synapse. The associations of the NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate) receptor subunit GRIN2A and AMPA (α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionic acid) receptor subunit GRIA3 provide support for dysfunction of the glutamatergic system as a mechanistic hypothesis in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. We observe an overlap of rare variant risk among schizophrenia, autism spectrum disorders1, epilepsy and severe neurodevelopmental disorders2, although different mutation types are implicated in some shared genes. Most genes described here, however, are not implicated in neurodevelopment. We demonstrate that genes prioritized from common variant analyses of schizophrenia are enriched in rare variant risk3, suggesting that common and rare genetic risk factors converge at least partially on the same underlying pathogenic biological processes. Even after excluding significantly associated genes, schizophrenia cases still carry a substantial excess of URVs, which indicates that more risk genes await discovery using this approach.

Cell-type deconvolution of bulk-blood RNA-seq reveals biological insights into neuropsychiatric disorders.

Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have uncovered susceptibility loci associated with psychiatric disorders such as bipolar disorder (BP) and schizophrenia (SCZ). However, most of these loci are in non-coding regions of the genome, and the causal mechanisms of the link between genetic variation and disease risk is unknown. Expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) analysis of bulk tissue is a common approach used for deciphering underlying mechanisms, although this can obscure cell-type-specific signals and thus mask trait-relevant mechanisms. Although single-cell sequencing can be prohibitively expensive in large cohorts, computationally inferred cell-type proportions and cell-type gene expression estimates have the potential to overcome these problems and advance mechanistic studies. Using bulk RNA-seq from 1,730 samples derived from whole blood in a cohort ascertained from individuals with BP and SCZ, this study estimated cell-type proportions and their relation with disease status and medication. For each cell type, we found between 2,875 and 4,629 eGenes (genes with an associated eQTL), including 1,211 that are not found on the basis of bulk expression alone. We performed a colocalization test between cell-type eQTLs and various traits and identified hundreds of associations that occur between cell-type eQTLs and GWASs but that are not detected in bulk eQTLs. Finally, we investigated the effects of lithium use on the regulation of cell-type expression loci and found examples of genes that are differentially regulated according to lithium use. Our study suggests that applying computational methods to large bulk RNA-seq datasets of non-brain tissue can identify disease-relevant, cell-type-specific biology of psychiatric disorders and psychiatric medication.

Large-scale analysis of structural brain asymmetries in schizophrenia via the ENIGMA consortium.

Left-right asymmetry is an important organizing feature of the healthy brain that may be altered in schizophrenia, but most studies have used relatively small samples and heterogeneous approaches, resulting in equivocal findings. We carried out the largest case-control study of structural brain asymmetries in schizophrenia, with MRI data from 5,080 affected individuals and 6,015 controls across 46 datasets, using a single image analysis protocol. Asymmetry indexes were calculated for global and regional cortical thickness, surface area, and subcortical volume measures. Differences of asymmetry were calculated between affected individuals and controls per dataset, and effect sizes were meta-analyzed across datasets. Small average case-control differences were observed for thickness asymmetries of the rostral anterior cingulate and the middle temporal gyrus, both driven by thinner left-hemispheric cortices in schizophrenia. Analyses of these asymmetries with respect to the use of antipsychotic medication and other clinical variables did not show any significant associations. Assessment of age- and sex-specific effects revealed a stronger average leftward asymmetry of pallidum volume between older cases and controls. Case-control differences in a multivariate context were assessed in a subset of the data (N = 2,029), which revealed that 7% of the variance across all structural asymmetries was explained by case-control status. Subtle case-control differences of brain macrostructural asymmetry may reflect differences at the molecular, cytoarchitectonic, or circuit levels that have functional relevance for the disorder. Reduced left middle temporal cortical thickness is consistent with altered left-hemisphere language network organization in schizophrenia.

Genomic loci influence patterns of structural covariance in the human brain.

Normal and pathologic neurobiological processes influence brain morphology in coordinated ways that give rise to patterns of structural covariance (PSC) across brain regions and individuals during brain aging and diseases. The genetic underpinnings of these patterns remain largely unknown. We apply a stochastic multivariate factorization method to a diverse population of 50,699 individuals (12 studies and 130 sites) and derive data-driven, multi-scale PSCs of regional brain size. PSCs were significantly correlated with 915 genomic loci in the discovery set, 617 of which are newly identified, and 72% were independently replicated. Key pathways influencing PSCs involve reelin signaling, apoptosis, neurogenesis, and appendage development, while pathways of breast cancer indicate potential interplays between brain metastasis and PSCs associated with neurodegeneration and dementia. Using support vector machines, multi-scale PSCs effectively derive imaging signatures of several brain diseases. Our results elucidate genetic and biological underpinnings that influence structural covariance patterns in the human brain.

Monozygotic twins discordant for schizophrenia differ in maturation and synaptic transmission.

Schizophrenia affects approximately 1% of the world population. Genetics, epigenetics, and environmental factors are known to play a role in this psychiatric disorder. While there is a high concordance in monozygotic twins, about half of twin pairs are discordant for schizophrenia. To address the question of how and when concordance in monozygotic twins occur, we have obtained fibroblasts from two pairs of schizophrenia discordant twins (one sibling with schizophrenia while the second one is unaffected by schizophrenia) and three pairs of healthy twins (both of the siblings are healthy). We have prepared iPSC models for these 3 groups of patients with schizophrenia, unaffected co-twins, and the healthy twins. When the study started the co-twins were considered healthy and unaffected but both the co-twins were later diagnosed with a depressive disorder. The reprogrammed iPSCs were differentiated into hippocampal neurons to measure the neurophysiological abnormalities in the patients. We found that the neurons derived from the schizophrenia patients were less arborized, were hypoexcitable with immature spike features, and exhibited a significant reduction in synaptic activity with dysregulation in synapse-related genes. Interestingly, the neurons derived from the co-twin siblings who did not have schizophrenia formed another distinct group that was different from the neurons in the group of the affected twin siblings but also different from the neurons in the group of the control twins. Importantly, their synaptic activity was not affected. Our measurements that were obtained from schizophrenia patients and their monozygotic twin and compared also to control healthy twins point to hippocampal synaptic deficits as a central mechanism in schizophrenia.

Psychosis brain subtypes validated in first-episode cohorts and related to illness remission: results from the PHENOM consortium.

Using machine learning, we recently decomposed the neuroanatomical heterogeneity of established schizophrenia to discover two volumetric subgroups-a 'lower brain volume' subgroup (SG1) and an 'higher striatal volume' subgroup (SG2) with otherwise normal brain structure. In this study, we investigated whether the MRI signatures of these subgroups were also already present at the time of the first-episode of psychosis (FEP) and whether they were related to clinical presentation and clinical remission over 1-, 3-, and 5-years. We included 572 FEP and 424 healthy controls (HC) from 4 sites (Sao Paulo, Santander, London, Melbourne) of the PHENOM consortium. Our prior MRI subgrouping models (671 participants; USA, Germany, and China) were applied to both FEP and HC. Participants were assigned into 1 of 4 categories: subgroup 1 (SG1), subgroup 2 (SG2), no subgroup membership ('None'), and mixed SG1 + SG2 subgroups ('Mixed'). Voxel-wise analyses characterized SG1 and SG2 subgroups. Supervised machine learning analyses characterized baseline and remission signatures related to SG1 and SG2 membership. The two dominant patterns of 'lower brain volume' in SG1 and 'higher striatal volume' (with otherwise normal neuromorphology) in SG2 were identified already at the first episode of psychosis. SG1 had a significantly higher proportion of FEP (32%) vs. HC (19%) than SG2 (FEP, 21%; HC, 23%). Clinical multivariate signatures separated the SG1 and SG2 subgroups (balanced accuracy = 64%; p < 0.0001), with SG2 showing higher education but also greater positive psychosis symptoms at first presentation, and an association with symptom remission at 1-year, 5-year, and when timepoints were combined. Neuromorphological subtypes of schizophrenia are already evident at illness onset, separated by distinct clinical presentations, and differentially associated with subsequent remission. These results suggest that the subgroups may be underlying risk phenotypes that could be targeted in future treatment trials and are critical to consider when interpreting neuroimaging literature.

Longitudinal Allometry of Sulcal Morphology in Health and Schizophrenia.

Scaling between subcomponents of folding and total brain volume (TBV) in healthy individuals (HIs) is allometric. It is unclear whether this is true in schizophrenia (SZ) or first-episode psychosis (FEP). This study confirmed normative allometric scaling norms in HIs using discovery and replication samples. Cross-sectional and longitudinal diagnostic differences in folding subcomponents were then assessed using an allometric framework. Structural imaging from a longitudinal (Sample 1: HI and SZ, nHI Baseline = 298, nSZ Baseline = 169, nHI Follow-up = 293, nSZ Follow-up = 168, totaling 1087 images, all individuals ≥ 2 images, age 16-69 years) and a cross-sectional sample (Sample 2: nHI = 61 and nFEP = 89, age 10-30 years), all human males and females, is leveraged to calculate global folding and its nested subcomponents: sulcation index (SI, total sulcal/cortical hull area) and determinants of sulcal area: sulcal length and sulcal depth. Scaling of SI, sulcal area, and sulcal length with TBV in SZ and FEP was allometric and did not differ from HIs. Longitudinal age trajectories demonstrated steeper loss of SI and sulcal area through adulthood in SZ. Longitudinal allometric analysis revealed that both annual change in SI and sulcal area was significantly stronger related to change in TBV in SZ compared with HIs. Our results detail the first evidence of the disproportionate contribution of changes in SI and sulcal area to TBV changes in SZ. Longitudinal allometric analysis of sulcal morphology provides deeper insight into lifespan trajectories of cortical folding in SZ.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Psychotic disorders are associated with deficits in cortical folding and brain size, but we lack knowledge of how these two morphometric features are related. We leverage cross-sectional and longitudinal samples in which we decompose folding into a set of nested subcomponents: sulcal and hull area, and sulcal depth and length. We reveal that, in both schizophrenia and first-episode psychosis, (1) scaling of subcomponents with brain size is different from expected scaling laws and (2) caution is warranted when interpreting results from traditional methods for brain size correction. Longitudinal allometric scaling points to loss of sulcal area as a principal contributor to loss of brain size in schizophrenia. These findings advance the understanding of cortical folding atypicalities in psychotic disorders.

Negative symptoms in First-Episode Schizophrenia related to morphometric alterations in orbitofrontal and superior temporal cortex: the OPTiMiSE study.

BACKGROUND: Negative symptoms are one of the most incapacitating features of Schizophrenia but their pathophysiology remains unclear. They have been linked to alterations in grey matter in several brain regions, but findings have been inconsistent. This may reflect the investigation of relatively small patient samples, and the confounding effects of chronic illness and exposure to antipsychotic medication. We sought to address these issues by investigating concurrently grey matter volumes (GMV) and cortical thickness (CTh) in a large sample of antipsychotic-naïve or minimally treated patients with First-Episode Schizophrenia (FES). METHODS: T1-weighted structural MRI brain scans were acquired from 180 antipsychotic-naïve or minimally treated patients recruited as part of the OPTiMiSE study. The sample was stratified into subgroups with (N = 88) or without (N = 92) Prominent Negative Symptoms (PMN), based on PANSS ratings at presentation. Regional GMV and CTh in the two groups were compared using Voxel-Based Morphometry (VBM) and FreeSurfer (FS). Between-group differences were corrected for multiple comparisons via Family-Wise Error (FWE) and Monte Carlo z-field simulation respectively at p < 0.05 (2-tailed). RESULTS: The presence of PMN symptoms was associated with larger left inferior orbitofrontal volume (p = 0.03) and greater CTh in the left lateral orbitofrontal gyrus (p = 0.007), but reduced CTh in the left superior temporal gyrus (p = 0.009). CONCLUSIONS: The findings highlight the role of orbitofrontal and temporal cortices in the pathogenesis of negative symptoms of Schizophrenia. As they were evident in generally untreated FEP patients, the results are unlikely to be related to effects of previous treatment or illness chronicity.

Childhood abuse v. neglect and risk for major psychiatric disorders.

BACKGROUND: Childhood maltreatment (CM) is a strong risk factor for psychiatric disorders but serves in its current definitions as an umbrella for various fundamentally different childhood experiences. As first step toward a more refined analysis of the impact of CM, our objective is to revisit the relation of abuse and neglect, major subtypes of CM, with symptoms across disorders. METHODS: Three longitudinal studies of major depressive disorder (MDD, N = 1240), bipolar disorder (BD, N = 1339), and schizophrenia (SCZ, N = 577), each including controls (N = 881), were analyzed. Multivariate regression models were used to examine the relation between exposure to abuse, neglect, or their combination to the odds for MDD, BD, SCZ, and symptoms across disorders. Bidirectional Mendelian randomization (MR) was used to probe causality, using genetic instruments of abuse and neglect derived from UK Biobank data (N = 143 473). RESULTS: Abuse was the stronger risk factor for SCZ (OR 3.51, 95% CI 2.17-5.67) and neglect for BD (OR 2.69, 95% CI 2.09-3.46). Combined CM was related to increased risk exceeding additive effects of abuse and neglect for MDD (RERI = 1.4) and BD (RERI = 1.1). Across disorders, abuse was associated with hallucinations (OR 2.16, 95% CI 1.55-3.01) and suicide attempts (OR 2.16, 95% CI 1.55-3.01) whereas neglect was associated with agitation (OR 1.24, 95% CI 1.02-1.51) and reduced need for sleep (OR 1.64, 95% CI 1.08-2.48). MR analyses were consistent with a bidirectional causal effect of abuse with SCZ (IVWforward = 0.13, 95% CI 0.01-0.24). CONCLUSIONS: Childhood abuse and neglect are associated with different risks to psychiatric symptoms and disorders. Unraveling the origin of these differences may advance understanding of disease etiology and ultimately facilitate development of improved personalized treatment strategies.

Gene expression profiling of monocytes in recent-onset schizophrenia.

Immune-related mechanisms have been suggested to be involved in schizophrenia. Various studies have shown changes in monocytes isolated from the blood of schizophrenia patients, including changes in monocyte numbers, as well as altered protein and transcript levels of important markers. However, validation of these findings and understanding how these results are related to immune-related changes in the brain and schizophrenia genetic risk factors, is limited. The goal of this study was to better understand changes observed in monocytes of patients with early-onset schizophrenia. Using RNA sequencing, we analyzed gene expression profiles of monocytes isolated from twenty patients with early-onset schizophrenia and seventeen healthy controls. We validated expression changes of 7 out of 29 genes that were differentially expressed in previous studies including TNFAIP3, DUSP2, and IL6. At a transcriptome-wide level, we found 99 differentially expressed genes. Effect sizes of differentially expressed genes were moderately correlated with differential expression in brain tissue (Pearson's r = 0.49). Upregulated genes were enriched for genes in NF-κB and LPS signaling pathways. Downregulated genes were enriched for glucocorticoid response pathways. These pathways have been implicated in schizophrenia before and play a role in regulating the activation of myeloid cells. Interestingly, they are also involved in several non-inflammatory processes in the central nervous system, such as neurogenesis and neurotransmission. Future studies are needed to better understand how dysregulation of the NF-κB and glucocorticoid pathways affects inflammatory and non-inflammatory processes in schizophrenia. The fact that dysregulation of these pathways is also seen in brain tissue, provides potential possibilities for biomarker development.

Systematic evaluation of machine learning algorithms for neuroanatomically-based age prediction in youth.

Application of machine learning (ML) algorithms to structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI) data has yielded behaviorally meaningful estimates of the biological age of the brain (brain-age). The choice of the ML approach in estimating brain-age in youth is important because age-related brain changes in this age-group are dynamic. However, the comparative performance of the available ML algorithms has not been systematically appraised. To address this gap, the present study evaluated the accuracy (mean absolute error [MAE]) and computational efficiency of 21 machine learning algorithms using sMRI data from 2105 typically developing individuals aged 5-22 years from five cohorts. The trained models were then tested in two independent holdout datasets, one comprising 4078 individuals aged 9-10 years and another comprising 594 individuals aged 5-21 years. The algorithms encompassed parametric and nonparametric, Bayesian, linear and nonlinear, tree-based, and kernel-based models. Sensitivity analyses were performed for parcellation scheme, number of neuroimaging input features, number of cross-validation folds, number of extreme outliers, and sample size. Tree-based models and algorithms with a nonlinear kernel performed comparably well, with the latter being especially computationally efficient. Extreme Gradient Boosting (MAE of 1.49 years), Random Forest Regression (MAE of 1.58 years), and Support Vector Regression (SVR) with Radial Basis Function (RBF) Kernel (MAE of 1.64 years) emerged as the three most accurate models. Linear algorithms, with the exception of Elastic Net Regression, performed poorly. Findings of the present study could be used as a guide for optimizing methodology when quantifying brain-age in youth.

Within-family influences on dimensional neurobehavioral traits in a high-risk genetic model.

BACKGROUND: Genotype-first and within-family studies can elucidate factors that contribute to psychiatric illness. Combining these approaches, we investigated the patterns of influence of parental scores, a high-impact variant, and schizophrenia on dimensional neurobehavioral phenotypes implicated in major psychiatric disorders. METHODS: We quantitatively assessed cognitive (FSIQ, VIQ, PIQ), social, and motor functioning in 82 adult individuals with a de novo 22q11.2 deletion (22 with schizophrenia), and 148 of their unaffected parents. We calculated within-family correlations and effect sizes of the 22q11.2 deletion and schizophrenia, and used linear regressions to assess contributions to neurobehavioral measures. RESULTS: Proband-parent intra-class correlations (ICC) were significant for cognitive measures (e.g. FSIQ ICC = 0.549, p < 0.0001), but not for social or motor measures. Compared to biparental scores, the 22q11.2 deletion conferred significant impairments for all phenotypes assessed (effect sizes -1.39 to -2.07 s.d.), strongest for PIQ. There were further decrements in those with schizophrenia. Regression models explained up to 37.7% of the variance in IQ and indicated that for proband IQ, parental IQ had larger effects than schizophrenia. CONCLUSIONS: This study, for the first time, disentangles the impact of a high-impact variant from the modifying effects of parental scores and schizophrenia on relevant neurobehavioral phenotypes. The robust proband-parent correlations for cognitive measures, independent of the impact of the 22q11.2 deletion and of schizophrenia, suggest that, for certain phenotypes, shared genetic variation plays a significant role in expression. Molecular genetic and predictor studies are needed to elucidate shared factors and their contribution to psychiatric illness in this and other high-risk groups.

Comparing psychotic experiences in low-and-middle-income-countries and high-income-countries with a focus on measurement invariance.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of psychotic experiences (PEs) is higher in low-and-middle-income-countries (LAMIC) than in high-income countries (HIC). Here, we examine whether this effect is explicable by measurement bias. METHODS: A community sample from 13 countries (N = 7141) was used to examine the measurement invariance (MI) of a frequently used self-report measure of PEs, the Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences (CAPE), in LAMIC (n = 2472) and HIC (n = 4669). The CAPE measures positive (e.g. hallucinations), negative (e.g. avolition) and depressive symptoms. MI analyses were conducted with multiple-group confirmatory factor analyses. RESULTS: MI analyses showed similarities in the structure and understanding of the CAPE factors between LAMIC and HIC. Partial scalar invariance was found, allowing for latent score comparisons. Residual invariance was not found, indicating that sum score comparisons are biased. A comparison of latent scores before and after MI adjustment showed both overestimation (e.g. avolition, d = 0.03 into d = -0.42) and underestimation (e.g. magical thinking, d = -0.03 into d = 0.33) of PE in LAMIC relative to HIC. After adjusting the CAPE for MI, participants from LAMIC reported significantly higher levels on most CAPE factors but a significantly lower level of avolition. CONCLUSION: Previous studies using sum scores to compare differences across countries are likely to be biased. The direction of the bias involves both over- and underestimation of PEs in LAMIC compared to HIC. Nevertheless, the study confirms the basic finding that PEs are more frequent in LAMIC than in HIC.

Distinct non-inflammatory signature of microglia in post-mortem brain tissue of patients with major depressive disorder.

Findings from epidemiological studies, biomarker measurements and animal experiments suggest a role for aberrant immune processes in the pathogenesis of major depressive disorder (MDD). Microglia, the resident immune cells of the brain, are likely to play a key role in these processes. Previous post-mortem studies reported conflicting findings regarding microglial activation and an in-depth profiling of those cells in MDD is lacking. The aim of this study was therefore to characterize the phenotype and function of microglia in MDD. We isolated microglia from post-mortem brain tissue of patients with MDD (n = 13-19) and control donors (n = 12-25). Using flow cytometry and quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (qPCR), we measured protein and mRNA levels of a panel of microglial markers across four different brain regions (medial frontal gyrus, superior temporal gyrus, thalamus, and subventricular zone). In MDD cases, we found a significant upregulation of CX3CR1 and TMEM119 mRNA expression and a downregulation of CD163 mRNA expression and CD14 protein expression across the four brain regions. Expression levels of microglial activation markers, such as HLA-DRA, IL6, and IL1ß, as well as the inflammatory responses to lipopolysaccharide and dexamethasone were unchanged. Our findings suggest that microglia enhance homeostatic functions in MDD but are not immune activated.

Genetic copy number variants, cognition and psychosis: a meta-analysis and a family study.

The burden of large and rare copy number genetic variants (CNVs) as well as certain specific CNVs increase the risk of developing schizophrenia. Several cognitive measures are purported schizophrenia endophenotypes and may represent an intermediate point between genetics and the illness. This paper investigates the influence of CNVs on cognition. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature exploring the effect of CNV burden on general intelligence. We included ten primary studies with a total of 18,847 participants and found no evidence of association. In a new psychosis family study, we investigated the effects of CNVs on specific cognitive abilities. We examined the burden of large and rare CNVs (>200 kb, <1% MAF) as well as known schizophrenia-associated CNVs in patients with psychotic disorders, their unaffected relatives and controls (N = 3428) from the Psychosis Endophenotypes International Consortium (PEIC). The carriers of specific schizophrenia-associated CNVs showed poorer performance than non-carriers in immediate (P = 0.0036) and delayed (P = 0.0115) verbal recall. We found suggestive evidence that carriers of schizophrenia-associated CNVs had poorer block design performance (P = 0.0307). We do not find any association between CNV burden and cognition. Our findings show that the known high-risk CNVs are not only associated with schizophrenia and other neurodevelopmental disorders, but are also a contributing factor to impairment in cognitive domains such as memory and perceptual reasoning, and act as intermediate biomarkers of disease risk.

Scalability of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale in first-episode schizophrenia assessed by Rasch models.

OBJECTIVE: Historically, assessment of the psychometric properties of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) has had several foci: (1) calculation of reliability indexes, (2) extraction of subdimensions from the scale, and (3) assessment of the validity of the total score. In this study, we aimed to examine the scalability and to assess the clinical performance of the 30-item PANSS total score as well as the scalability of a shorter version (PANSS-6) of the scale. METHODS: A composite data set of 1073 patients with first-episode schizophrenia or schizophrenia spectrum disorder was subjected to Rasch analysis of PANSS data from baseline and 4-6 weeks follow-up. RESULTS: The central tests of fit of the Rasch model failed to satisfy the statistical requirements behind item homogeneity for the PANSS-30 as well as the PANSS-6 total score. For the PANSS-30, Differential Item Functioning was pronounced both for the 7-point Likert scale rating categories and when dichotomizing the rating categories. Subsequently, the Rasch structure analysis in the context of dichotomized items was used to isolate and estimate a systematic error because of item inhomogeneity, as well as a random error. The size of the combined sources of error for the PANSS-30 total score approximated 20% which is often regarded as clinical cut-off between response versus no-response. CONCLUSION: The results demonstrate the operational consequences of a lack of statistical fit of the Rasch model and suggest that the calculated measure of uncertainty needs to be considered when using the PANSS-30 total score.

Sex Differences in Lifespan Trajectories and Variability of Human Sulcal and Gyral Morphology.

Sex differences in the development and aging of human sulcal morphology have been understudied. We charted sex differences in trajectories and inter-individual variability of global sulcal depth, width, and length, pial surface area, exposed (hull) gyral surface area, unexposed sulcal surface area, cortical thickness, gyral span, and cortex volume across the lifespan in a longitudinal sample (700 scans, 194 participants 2 scans, 104 three scans, age range: 16-70 years) of neurotypical males and females. After adjusting for brain volume, females had thicker cortex and steeper thickness decline until age 40 years; trajectories converged thereafter. Across sexes, sulcal shortening was faster before age 40, while sulcal shallowing and widening were faster thereafter. Although hull area remained stable, sulcal surface area declined and was more strongly associated with sulcal shortening than with sulcal shallowing and widening. Males showed greater variability for cortex volume and lower variability for sulcal width. Our findings highlight the association between loss of sulcal area, notably through sulcal shortening, with cortex volume loss. Studying sex differences in lifespan trajectories may improve knowledge of individual differences in brain development and the pathophysiology of neuropsychiatric conditions.

A loss of mature microglial markers without immune activation in schizophrenia.

Microglia, the immune cells of the brain, are important for neurodevelopment and have been hypothesized to play a role in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia (SCZ). Although previous postmortem studies pointed toward presence of microglial activation, this view has been challenged by more recent hypothesis-driven and hypothesis-free analyses. The aim of the present study is to further understand the observed microglial changes in SCZ. We first performed a detailed meta-analysis on studies that analyzed microglial cell density, microglial morphology, and expression of microglial-specific markers. We then further explored findings from the temporal cortex by performing immunostainings and qPCRs on an additional dataset. A random effect meta-analysis showed that the density of microglial cells was unaltered in SCZ (ES: 0.144 95% CI: 0.102 to 0.390, p = .250), and clear changes in microglial morphology were also absent. The expression of several microglial specific genes, such as CX3CR1, CSF1R, IRF8, OLR1, and TMEM119 was decreased in SCZ (ES: -0.417 95% CI: -0.417 to -0.546, p < .0001), consistent with genome-wide transcriptome meta-analysis results. These results indicate a change in microglial phenotype rather than density, which was validated with the use of TMEM119/Iba1 immunostainings on temporal cortex of a separate cohort. Changes in microglial gene expression were overlapping between SCZ and other psychiatric disorders, but largely opposite from changes reported in Alzheimer's disease. This distinct microglial phenotype provides a crucial molecular hallmark for future research into the role of microglia in SCZ and other psychiatric disorders.

Disrupted upregulation of salience network connectivity during acute stress in siblings of schizophrenia patients.

BACKGROUND: An adaptive neural stress response is essential to adequately cope with a changing environment. It was previously argued that sympathetic/noradrenergic activity during acute stress increases salience network (SN) connectivity and reduces executive control network (ECN) connectivity in healthy controls, with opposing effects in the late aftermath of stress. Altered temporal dynamics of these networks in response to stress are thought to play a role in the development of psychopathology in vulnerable individuals. METHODS: We exposed male healthy controls (n = 40, mean age = 33.9) and unaffected siblings of schizophrenia patients (n = 39, mean age = 33.2) to the stress or control condition of the trier social stress test and subsequently investigated resting state functional connectivity of the SN and ECN directly after and 1.5 h after stress. RESULTS: Acute stress resulted in increased functional connectivity within the SN in healthy controls, but not in siblings (group × stress interaction pfwe < 0.05). In the late aftermath of stress, stress reduced functional connectivity within the SN in both groups. Moreover, we found increased functional connectivity between the ECN and the cerebellum in the aftermath of stress in both healthy controls and siblings of schizophrenia patients. CONCLUSIONS: The results show profound differences between siblings of schizophrenia patients and controls during acute stress. Siblings lacked the upregulation of neural resources necessary to quickly and adequately cope with a stressor. This points to a reduced dynamic range in the sympathetic response, and may constitute a vulnerability factor for the development of psychopathology in this at-risk group.

Neuroanatomical abnormalities in first-episode psychosis across independent samples: a multi-centre mega-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Neuroanatomical abnormalities in first-episode psychosis (FEP) tend to be subtle and widespread. The vast majority of previous studies have used small samples, and therefore may have been underpowered. In addition, most studies have examined participants at a single research site, and therefore the results may be specific to the local sample investigated. Consequently, the findings reported in the existing literature are highly heterogeneous. This study aimed to overcome these issues by testing for neuroanatomical abnormalities in individuals with FEP that are expressed consistently across several independent samples. METHODS: Structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging data were acquired from a total of 572 FEP and 502 age and gender comparable healthy controls at five sites. Voxel-based morphometry was used to investigate differences in grey matter volume (GMV) between the two groups. Statistical inferences were made at p < 0.05 after family-wise error correction for multiple comparisons. RESULTS: FEP showed a widespread pattern of decreased GMV in fronto-temporal, insular and occipital regions bilaterally; these decreases were not dependent on anti-psychotic medication. The region with the most pronounced decrease - gyrus rectus - was negatively correlated with the severity of positive and negative symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: This study identified a consistent pattern of fronto-temporal, insular and occipital abnormalities in five independent FEP samples; furthermore, the extent of these alterations is dependent on the severity of symptoms and duration of illness. This provides evidence for reliable neuroanatomical alternations in FEP, expressed above and beyond site-related differences in anti-psychotic medication, scanning parameters and recruitment criteria.