Psychopathological Syndromes Across Affective and Psychotic Disorders Correlate With Gray Matter Volumes

Frederike Stein; Tina Meller; Katharina Brosch; Simon Schmitt; Kai Ringwald; Julia Katharina Pfarr; Susanne Meinert; Katharina Thiel; Hannah Lemke; Lena Waltemate; Dominik Grotegerd; Nils Opel; Andreas Jansen; Igor Nenadić; Udo Dannlowski; Axel Krug; Tilo Kircher

doi:10.1093/schbul/sbab037

Psychopathological Syndromes Across Affective and Psychotic Disorders Correlate With Gray Matter Volumes

Schizophr Bull. 2021 Oct 21;47(6):1740-1750. doi: 10.1093/schbul/sbab037.

Authors

Frederike Stein^{1

2}, Tina Meller^{1

2}, Katharina Brosch^{1

2}, Simon Schmitt^{1

2}, Kai Ringwald^{1

2}, Julia Katharina Pfarr^{1

2}, Susanne Meinert³, Katharina Thiel³, Hannah Lemke³, Lena Waltemate³, Dominik Grotegerd³, Nils Opel³, Andreas Jansen^{1

2}, Igor Nenadić^{1

2}, Udo Dannlowski³, Axel Krug^{1

2

4}, Tilo Kircher^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany.
² Center for Mind Brain and Behavior, University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany.
³ Department of Psychiatry University of Münster, Münster, Germany.
⁴ Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.

Abstract

Introduction: More than a century of research on the neurobiological underpinnings of major psychiatric disorders (major depressive disorder [MDD], bipolar disorder [BD], schizophrenia [SZ], and schizoaffective disorder [SZA]) has been unable to identify diagnostic markers. An alternative approach is to study dimensional psychopathological syndromes that cut across categorical diagnoses. The aim of the current study was to identify gray matter volume (GMV) correlates of transdiagnostic symptom dimensions.

Methods: We tested the association of 5 psychopathological factors with GMV using multiple regression models in a sample of N = 1069 patients meeting Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) criteria for MDD (n = 818), BD (n = 132), and SZ/SZA (n = 119). T1-weighted brain images were acquired with 3-Tesla magnetic resonance imaging and preprocessed with CAT12. Interactions analyses (diagnosis × psychopathological factor) were performed to test whether local GMV associations were driven by DSM-IV diagnosis. We further tested syndrome specific regions of interest (ROIs).

Results: Whole brain analysis showed a significant negative association of the positive formal thought disorder factor with GMV in the right middle frontal gyrus, the paranoid-hallucinatory syndrome in the right fusiform, and the left middle frontal gyri. ROI analyses further showed additional negative associations, including the negative syndrome with bilateral frontal opercula, positive formal thought disorder with the left amygdala-hippocampus complex, and the paranoid-hallucinatory syndrome with the left angular gyrus. None of the GMV associations interacted with DSM-IV diagnosis.

Conclusions: We found associations between psychopathological syndromes and regional GMV independent of diagnosis. Our findings open a new avenue for neurobiological research across disorders, using syndrome-based approaches rather than categorical diagnoses.

Keywords: dimensional; major psychiatric disorders; transdiagnostic; voxel-based morphometry.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Bipolar Disorder* / diagnostic imaging
Bipolar Disorder* / pathology
Bipolar Disorder* / physiopathology
Depressive Disorder, Major* / diagnostic imaging
Depressive Disorder, Major* / pathology
Depressive Disorder, Major* / physiopathology
Female
Gray Matter / diagnostic imaging
Gray Matter / pathology*
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Male
Psychotic Disorders* / diagnostic imaging
Psychotic Disorders* / pathology
Psychotic Disorders* / physiopathology
Schizophrenia* / diagnostic imaging
Schizophrenia* / pathology
Schizophrenia* / physiopathology
Syndrome