Psychiatric disorders

Although genetic and neurobiological studies have suggested common neural correlates in schizophrenia (SCZ) and bipolar disorder (BPD), here we hypothesized that a fundamental dissociation of social processing occurs at an early level in these conditions.

We found opposite neural responses in two core Theory-of-Mind regions: SCZ patients showed social content-related deactivation (relative to controls and BPD) of the right supramarginal gyrus, a region which activity is required to overcome egocentric “overmentalizing”, while the opposite pattern was found in BPD; reverse patterns, relative to controls and SCZ, were found in the left posterior superior temporal gyrus, a region involved in inferring other’s intentions.

These contrasting activation patterns of the temporoparietal junction in SCZ and BPD represent mechanistic differences of social cognitive dysfunction that may be explored as biomarkers or therapeutic targets.

Madeira et al. (2021). DOI: 10.1101/2021.03.08.21253057.

Voxel-based morphometry analysis revealed a schizophrenia vs. control group effect on regional grey matter volume (p < 0.05, familywise error correction) in the right globus pallidus.

There was no group effect on white matter volume when correcting for multiple comparisons neither on cortical thickness.

Gyrification changes in clinical samples were found in the left supramarginal gyrus (BA40) – increased and reduced gyrification, respectively, in BPD and SCZ patients - and in the right inferior frontal gyrus (BA47), with a reduction in gyrification of the SCZ group when compared with controls.

Madeira et al. (2020). DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2020.102220.