Volume alterations of the hippocampus and amygdala in patients with schizophrenia and persistent auditory hallucinations

Auditory hallucinations (AH) are one of the most prevalent symptoms of schizophrenia. They might cause several brain alterations, especially changes in the volumes of hippocampus and amygdala, regions related to the relay and processing of auditory cues and emotional memories. We have recruited 41 p...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Perez-Rando, Marta|||0000-0002-5286-1545, Penades-Gomiz, Carlota, Martinez-Marin, Pablo, García-Martí, Gracián|||0000-0002-9850-2580, Aguilar Cortes, Eduardo|||0000-0002-7875-5644, Escarti, Maria J., Grasa, Eva|||0000-0003-1100-7489, Corripio, Iluminada|||0000-0003-2562-711X, Sanjuan, Julio, Nacher, Juan|||0000-0001-7599-3957
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2023
País:España
Institución:Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Repositorio:Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:ddd.uab.cat:303851
Acceso en línea:https://ddd.uab.cat/record/303851
https://dx.doi.org/urn:doi:10.1016/j.rpsm.2023.05.002
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Amygdala
Auditory hallucinations
Hippocampus
Schizophrenia
Segmentation
Descripción
Sumario:Auditory hallucinations (AH) are one of the most prevalent symptoms of schizophrenia. They might cause several brain alterations, especially changes in the volumes of hippocampus and amygdala, regions related to the relay and processing of auditory cues and emotional memories. We have recruited 41 patients with schizophrenia and persistent AH, 35 patients without AH, and 55 healthy controls. Using their MRIs, we have performed semiautomatic segmentations of the hippocampus and amygdala using Freesurfer. We have also performed bilateral correlations between the total PSYRATS score and the volumes of affected subregions and nuclei. In the hippocampus, we found bilateral increases in the volume of its hippocampal fissure and decreases in the right fimbria in patients with and without AH. The volume of the right hippocampal tail and left head of the granule cell layer from the dentate gyrus were decreased in patients with AH. In the amygdala, we found its left total volume was shrunk, and there was a decrease of its left accessory basal nucleus in patients with AH. We have detected volume alterations of different limbic structures likely due to the presence of AH. The volumes of the right hippocampal tail and left head of the granule cell layer from the dentate gyrus, and total volume of the amygdala and its accessory basal nucleus, were only affected in patients with AH. Bilateral volume alterations in the hippocampal fissure and right fimbria seem inherent of schizophrenia and due to traits not contemplated in our research.