A meta-analysis of diffusion tensor imaging studies of the corpus callosum in schizophrenia

• Published in: Schizophrenia research Vol. 129; no. 2; pp. 149 - 155
• Main Authors: Patel, Shivani, Mahon, Katie, Wellington, Robin, Zhang, Jianping, Chaplin, William, Szeszko, Philip R
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 01.07.2011; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Biological and medical sciences; Corpus callosum; Corpus Callosum - metabolism; Corpus Callosum - pathology; Diffusion Tensor Imaging; Female; Genu; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Meta-analysis; Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Psychoses; Schizophrenia; Schizophrenia - pathology; Splenium; Young Adult; Splenium; Genu; Corpus callosum; Diffusion tensor imaging; Meta-analysis; Human; Central nervous system; Schizophrenia; Review; Nuclear magnetic resonance imaging; Encephalon; Metaanalysis; Psychosis; Medical imagery
• ISSN: 0920-9964; 1573-2509
• DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2011.03.014

Abstract Background The corpus callosum has been hypothesized to play an important role in neurobiological models of schizophrenia. Diffusion tensor imaging studies have provided evidence for a disruption in corpus callosum morphology in schizophrenia, but the regional distribution of abnormalities is not well known. Methods We conducted 2 meta-analyses investigating the genu and splenium of the corpus callosum in schizophrenia, respectively, based on published diffusion tensor imaging studies that employed a region-of-interest approach. Seven studies investigating the genu and splenium involving a total of 202 patients with schizophrenia and 213 healthy volunteers were included. Results The meta-analysis of the genu yielded an effect size of 0.223 and was not statistically significant. The second meta-analysis investigating the splenium yielded a modest effect size of 0.527 (p = 0.001), indicating that patients had lower fractional anisotropy in this region compared to healthy volunteers. Studies that included fewer men had a larger effect size for the splenium. Discussion These findings implicate an abnormality involving the splenium of the corpus callosum in the neurobiology of schizophrenia as inferred by diffusion tensor imaging. A defect in the splenium could contribute to abnormalities in posterior interhemispheric connectivity in patients, including regions of the heteromodal association cortex.