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Negative symptoms in schizophrenia show association with amygdala volumes and neural activation during affective processing

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 March 2015

Christoffer Rahm ,
Benny Liberg ,
Greg Reckless ,
Olga Ousdal ,
Ingrid Melle ,
Ole A. Andreassen  and
Ingrid Agartz
Christoffer Rahm*
Affiliation:
Department of Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Benny Liberg
Affiliation:
Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia Division of Medical Imaging and Technology, Department of Clinical Science, Intervention and Technology (CLINTEC), Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
Greg Reckless
Affiliation:
Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Norway
Olga Ousdal
Affiliation:
Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Norway
Ingrid Melle
Affiliation:
Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Norway
Ole A. Andreassen
Affiliation:
Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Norway
Ingrid Agartz
Affiliation:
Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Norway
*
Dr. Christoffer Rahm, Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, National Neuroscience Facility, Level 3, Alan Gilbert Building, 161 Barry St, Carlton, VIV 3053, Australia. Tel: +61 3 9035 8628; Fax: +61 3 9348 0469; E-mail: christoffer.rahm@sll.se
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Abstract

Objectives

Negative symptoms in schizophrenia have been associated with structural and functional alterations of the amygdala. We hypothesised that there would be between-group differences in amygdala volume and neural activation patterns during processing of affective stimuli among patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls. We further hypothesised correlations between neuroimaging metrics and clinical ratings of negative symptoms in patients with schizophrenia.

Methods

We used structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging to assess volume and neural activation of the amygdala in 28 patients with schizophrenia and 28 healthy controls.

Results

We found no between-group differences in amygdala volume or neural activation. However, we found a significant negative correlation between emotional blunting and neural activation in the left amygdala during processing of positive affect. We also found a significant negative correlation between stereotyped thinking and the volume of right amygdala.

Conclusion

Our findings implicate the amygdala in a subgroup of negative symptoms in schizophrenia that are characterised by reduced expression with blunted affect and stereotyped thinking.

Keywords

amygdalafunctional magnetic resonance imagingmagnetic resonance imagingschizophrenia
Type
Original Articles
Information
Acta Neuropsychiatrica , Volume 27 , Issue 4 , August 2015 , pp. 213 - 220
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Copyright
© Scandinavian College of Neuropsychopharmacology 2015 

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