Autor:innen:
S. Fritze (Mannheim, DE)
G. Brandt (Mannheim, DE)
A. Benedyk (Mannheim, DE)
A. Moldavski (Mannheim, DE)
L. Geiger-Primo (Mannheim, DE)
K. Kubera (Heidelberg, DE)
R. Wolf (Heidelberg, DE)
E. Schwarz (Mannheim, DE)
A. Meyer-Lindenberg (Mannheim, DE)
H. Tost (Mannheim, DE)
D. Hirjak (Mannheim, DE)
Background: Psychomotor slowing (PS) is marked by slowed movements and lower activity levels. PS is a frequent feature in schizophrenia (SZ) and distressing because it impairs performance of everyday tasks and social activities. Studying brain correlates contributing to PS in SZ may help to develop more effective treatments targeting specific areas of the brain responsible for PS.
Methods: We performed structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI) of three independent cohorts of right-handed SZ patients (SZ#1: n=72, SZ#2: n=37, SZ#3: n=25) and age, gender and education matched healthy controls (HC) (HC#1: n=40, HC#2: n=37, HC#3: n=38). PS severity in the three SZ cohorts was assessed employing Trail-Making-Test B (TMT-B) and the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) item #G7 (motor retardation). FreeSurfer v7.2 was used for automated parcellation and segmentation of cortical and subcortical regions.
Results: SZ#1 patients showed cortical thinning in right precentral gyrus (p=0.04; Benjamini-Hochberg (BH) corr.). After correction for multiple testing, there were no further significant group differences in cortical and subcortical regions across all three cohorts. In SZ#1, reduced cortical thickness in right precentral gyrus was correlated with TMT-B performance (p=0.002; BH corr.) and PANSS item #G7 (p=0.04; BH corr.).
Conclusion: TMT-B and PANSS item G#7 are feasible surrogate markers of PS in SZ patients. Structural alterations of primary motor cortex rather than subcortical structures may point towards central pathomechanism underlying PS in SZ.