Structural changes to the fusiform gyrus: A cerebral marker for social impairments in 22q11.2 deletion syndrome?

Glaser, Bronwyn; Schaer, Marie; Berney, Sandra; Debbane, Martin; Vuilleumier, Patrik; Eliez, Stephan

doi:10.1016/j.schres.2007.08.016

« Previous Next »Schizophrenia Research
Volume 96, Issue 1 , Pages 82-86, November 2007

Structural changes to the fusiform gyrus: A cerebral marker for social impairments in 22q11.2 deletion syndrome?

Bronwyn Glaser
- Service Médico-Pédagogique, Department of Child Psychiatry, University of Geneva Medical School and University Hospitals, 16-18 bd St Georges, 1211 Geneva 8, Switzerland
- Corresponding author. Service médico-pédagogique, Bd St-Georges 16-18, Case postale 50, CH-1211 Geneva 8, Switzerland. Tel.: +41 22 327 43 02; fax: +41 22 327 43 20.
Marie Schaer
- Service Médico-Pédagogique, Department of Child Psychiatry, University of Geneva Medical School and University Hospitals, 16-18 bd St Georges, 1211 Geneva 8, Switzerland
- Signal Processing Institute, EPFL, LT55, Station 11, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland
Sandra Berney
- Service Médico-Pédagogique, Department of Child Psychiatry, University of Geneva Medical School and University Hospitals, 16-18 bd St Georges, 1211 Geneva 8, Switzerland
Martin Debbane
- Service Médico-Pédagogique, Department of Child Psychiatry, University of Geneva Medical School and University Hospitals, 16-18 bd St Georges, 1211 Geneva 8, Switzerland
Patrik Vuilleumier
- Behavioral Neurology and Imaging of Cognition, Clinic of Neurology, University Hospital and Department of Neurosciences, University Medical Center, Switzerland
- Swiss National Center of Affective Sciences, University of Geneva, Switzerland
Stephan Eliez
- Service Médico-Pédagogique, Department of Child Psychiatry, University of Geneva Medical School and University Hospitals, 16-18 bd St Georges, 1211 Geneva 8, Switzerland
- Department of Genetic Medicine and Development, University of Geneva Medical School and University Hospitals, Switzerland

Received 22 May 2007; received in revised form 9 August 2007; accepted 15 August 2007. published online 10 September 2007.

Abstract

Identifying the neural underpinnings of socio-emotional deficits in 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11DS) may elucidate recurrent psychosis in affected individuals. In the current study, we investigate volumetric changes in 22q11DS to the fusiform gyrus (FG), a region associated with hypoactivity during fMRI, by manually tracing the FG in 42 individuals with 22q11DS and 54 healthy controls. Larger anterior FG volumes and smaller posterior volumes bilaterally are observed in 22q11DS after controlling for total brain volume. The results demonstrate structural changes to the FG in 22q11DS, providing evidence for neural vulnerability in regions related to social cognition.

Abbreviations: 22q11DS, 22q11.2 deletion syndrome, FG, fusiform gyrus, MRI, magnetic resonance imaging.

Keywords: Velocardiofacial syndrome, 22q11 deletion syndrome, Fusiform gyrus, Structural MRI, Face processing, Psychosis