Structural pathology underlying neuroendocrine dysfunction in schizophrenia

Morris B. Goldman*, Lei Wang, Carly Wachi, Sheeraz Daudi, John Csernansky, Megan Marlow-O'Connor, Sarah Keedy, Ivan Torres

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

19 Scopus citations

Abstract

Polydipsic hyponatremic schizophrenic (PHS) patients exhibit altered neuroendocrine activity that has been linked to their life-threatening water imbalance, as well as to impaired function and reduced volume of the anterior hippocampus. Polydipsic patients without hyponatremia (polydipsic normonatremic schizophrenics: PNS) exhibit similar, albeit less marked, changes in neuroendocrine activity and anterior hippocampal function, but not reduced anterior hippocampal volume. Indeed, reduced anterior hippocampal volume is seen in patients with normal water balance (nonpolydipsic normonatremic schizophrenics: NNS) whose neuroendocrine activity and anterior hippocampal function differ markedly from those with polydipsia. In an effort to reconcile these findings we measured hippocampal, amygdala and 3rd ventricle shapes in 26 schizophrenic patients (10 PNS, 7 PHS, 9 NNS) and 12 healthy controls matched for age and gender. Bilateral inward deformations were localized to the anterior lateral hippocampal surface (part of a neurocircuit which modulates neuroendocrine responses to psychological stimuli) in PHS and to a lesser extent in PNS, while deformations in NNS were restricted to the medial surface. Proportional deformations of the right medial amygdala, a key segment of this neurocircuit, were seen in both polydipsic groups, and correlated with the volume of the 3rd ventricle, which lies adjacent to the neuroendocrine nuclei. Finally, these structural findings were most marked in those with impaired hippocampal-mediated stress responses. These results reconcile previously conflicting data, and support the view that anterior lateral hippocampal pathology disrupts neuroendocrine function in polydipsic patients with and without hyponatremia. The relationship of these findings to the underlying mental illness remains to be established.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)106-113
Number of pages8
JournalBehavioural Brain Research
Volume218
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 17 2011

Funding

Funded by the Brain Research Foundation and NIH R01 56525 (MG).

Keywords

  • 3rd ventricle
  • Amygdala
  • Hyponatremia
  • LDDMM
  • Morphometry
  • Polydipsia
  • Shape analysis
  • Stress diathesis

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Behavioral Neuroscience

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Structural pathology underlying neuroendocrine dysfunction in schizophrenia'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this