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Abstract
The objective of the study was to identify whether there are consistent regional white
matter changes in schizophrenia. A systematic search was conducted for voxel-based
diffusion tensor imaging fractional anisotropy studies of patients with schizophrenia
(or related disorders) in relation to comparison groups. The authors carried out meta-analysis
of the co-ordinates of fractional anisotropy differences. For the meta-analysis they
used the Activation Likelihood Estimation (ALE) method hybridized with the rank approach
used in Genome Scan Meta-Analysis (GSMA). This system detects three-dimensional conjunctions
of co-ordinates from multiple studies and permits the weighting of studies in relation
to sample size. Fifteen articles were identified for inclusion in the meta-analysis,
including a total of 407 patients with schizophrenia and 383 comparison subjects.
The studies reported fractional anisotropy reductions at 112 co-ordinates in schizophrenia
and no fractional anisotropy increases. Over all studies, significant reductions were
present in two regions: the left frontal deep white matter and the left temporal deep
white matter. The first region, in the left frontal lobe, is traversed by white matter
tracts interconnecting the frontal lobe, thalamus and cingulate gyrus. The second
region, in the temporal lobe, is traversed by white matter tracts interconnecting
the frontal lobe, insula, hippocampus-amygdala, temporal and occipital lobe. This
suggests that two networks of white matter tracts may be affected in schizophrenia,
with the potential for 'disconnection' of the gray matter regions which they link.