Abstract
Schizophrenia is widely considered a neurodevelopmental disorder. The timing of psychosis onset may determine the degree of functional and biological deficits. In this study, the association between age of onset of psychosis and in vivo biochemical levels was assessed in first-episode, antipsychotic-naive (FEAN) schizophrenia subjects. We hypothesized greater biochemical deficits in the younger-onset FEAN subjects. In vivo, 1H spectroscopy measurements of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) were conducted on FEAN subjects (15 schizophrenia and 3 schizoaffective subjects) and healthy comparison subjects of comparable age and gender distribution (N = 61). N-acetyl-aspartate was significantly lower in the left DLPFC of FEAN subjects as compared to healthy comparison subjects. However, there was a significant subject group-by-age interaction for N-acetyl-aspartate. Early-onset FEAN subjects showed lower N-acetyl-aspartate levels compared to the younger healthy comparison subjects, while adult-onset FEAN and older healthy comparison subjects did not differ. The lower N-acetyl-aspartate levels in the DLPFC of early-onset subjects suggest a reduction in functioning neurons or specifically a reduction in the proliferation of dendrites and synaptic connections, which is not apparent in the adult-onset schizophrenia subjects.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 23-32 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | Schizophrenia Research |
| Volume | 93 |
| Issue number | 1-3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jul 2007 |
Fingerprint
Keywords
- Dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex
- Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy
- Schizophrenia
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Psychiatry and Mental health
- Behavioral Neuroscience
- Biological Psychiatry
- Neurology
- Psychology(all)
Cite this
Reduced N-acetyl-aspartate levels in schizophrenia patients with a younger onset age : A single-voxel 1H spectroscopy study. / Stanley, Jeffrey A.; Vemulapalli, Madhuri; Nutche, Jeffrey; Montrose, Debra M.; Sweeney, John A.; Pettegrew, Jay W.; MacMaster, Frank P.; Keshavan, Matcheri S.
In: Schizophrenia Research, Vol. 93, No. 1-3, 07.2007, p. 23-32.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Reduced N-acetyl-aspartate levels in schizophrenia patients with a younger onset age
T2 - A single-voxel 1H spectroscopy study
AU - Stanley, Jeffrey A.
AU - Vemulapalli, Madhuri
AU - Nutche, Jeffrey
AU - Montrose, Debra M.
AU - Sweeney, John A.
AU - Pettegrew, Jay W.
AU - MacMaster, Frank P.
AU - Keshavan, Matcheri S.
PY - 2007/7
Y1 - 2007/7
N2 - Schizophrenia is widely considered a neurodevelopmental disorder. The timing of psychosis onset may determine the degree of functional and biological deficits. In this study, the association between age of onset of psychosis and in vivo biochemical levels was assessed in first-episode, antipsychotic-naive (FEAN) schizophrenia subjects. We hypothesized greater biochemical deficits in the younger-onset FEAN subjects. In vivo, 1H spectroscopy measurements of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) were conducted on FEAN subjects (15 schizophrenia and 3 schizoaffective subjects) and healthy comparison subjects of comparable age and gender distribution (N = 61). N-acetyl-aspartate was significantly lower in the left DLPFC of FEAN subjects as compared to healthy comparison subjects. However, there was a significant subject group-by-age interaction for N-acetyl-aspartate. Early-onset FEAN subjects showed lower N-acetyl-aspartate levels compared to the younger healthy comparison subjects, while adult-onset FEAN and older healthy comparison subjects did not differ. The lower N-acetyl-aspartate levels in the DLPFC of early-onset subjects suggest a reduction in functioning neurons or specifically a reduction in the proliferation of dendrites and synaptic connections, which is not apparent in the adult-onset schizophrenia subjects.
AB - Schizophrenia is widely considered a neurodevelopmental disorder. The timing of psychosis onset may determine the degree of functional and biological deficits. In this study, the association between age of onset of psychosis and in vivo biochemical levels was assessed in first-episode, antipsychotic-naive (FEAN) schizophrenia subjects. We hypothesized greater biochemical deficits in the younger-onset FEAN subjects. In vivo, 1H spectroscopy measurements of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) were conducted on FEAN subjects (15 schizophrenia and 3 schizoaffective subjects) and healthy comparison subjects of comparable age and gender distribution (N = 61). N-acetyl-aspartate was significantly lower in the left DLPFC of FEAN subjects as compared to healthy comparison subjects. However, there was a significant subject group-by-age interaction for N-acetyl-aspartate. Early-onset FEAN subjects showed lower N-acetyl-aspartate levels compared to the younger healthy comparison subjects, while adult-onset FEAN and older healthy comparison subjects did not differ. The lower N-acetyl-aspartate levels in the DLPFC of early-onset subjects suggest a reduction in functioning neurons or specifically a reduction in the proliferation of dendrites and synaptic connections, which is not apparent in the adult-onset schizophrenia subjects.
KW - Dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex
KW - Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy
KW - Schizophrenia
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=34249277055&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=34249277055&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.schres.2007.03.028
DO - 10.1016/j.schres.2007.03.028
M3 - Article
C2 - 17498928
AN - SCOPUS:34249277055
VL - 93
SP - 23
EP - 32
JO - Schizophrenia Research
JF - Schizophrenia Research
SN - 0920-9964
IS - 1-3
ER -