Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Email this article to a Colleague Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to My Articles & Searches Download to citation manager Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Articles by Barnea-Goraly, N. Articles by Eliez, S. Search for Related Content PubMed Citation Articles by Barnea-Goraly, N. Articles by Eliez, S. Other Neuroanatomy Other Childhood Disorders Other Neuroimaging

Investigation of White Matter Structure in Velocardiofacial Syndrome: A Diffusion Tensor Imaging Study

OBJECTIVE: Velocardiofacial syndrome, caused by a deletion on chromosome 22q11.2, is often accompanied by cognitive, behavioral, and psychiatric impairments. Specifically, velocardiofacial syndrome has been proposed as a disease model for a genetically mediated subtype of schizophrenia. Velocardiofacial syndrome is also known to affect brain structure. The most prominent structural findings in velocardiofacial syndrome are reduced white matter volumes. However, the structure of white matter and extent of specific regional involvement in this syndrome have never been investigated. The current study used diffusion tensor imaging to investigate white matter structure in children and young adults with velocardiofacial syndrome. METHOD: Nineteen participants with velocardiofacial syndrome and 19 age- and gender-matched comparison subjects underwent diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging scans. Whole brain voxel-by-voxel analyses were conducted to investigate white matter fractional anisotropy differences between the groups. RESULTS: Relative to the comparison group, the velocardiofacial syndrome group had reduced white matter anisotropy in the frontal, parietal, and temporal regions as well as in tracts connecting the frontal and temporal lobes. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that alterations of white matter tract structure occur in velocardiofacial syndrome. Reduced white matter anisotropy was observed in individuals with velocardiofacial syndrome in areas previously implicated in the neurocognitive phenotype of velocardiofacial syndrome. The finding of aberrant parietal white matter tracts as well as aberrant frontotemporal connectivity in velocardiofacial syndrome and in previous schizophrenia studies may be associated with increased vulnerability for development of psychotic symptoms.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				L. E. Campbell, E. Daly, F. Toal, A. Stevens, R. Azuma, M. Catani, V. Ng, T. van Amelsvoort, X. Chitnis, W. Cutter, et al. Brain and behaviour in children with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome: a volumetric and voxel-based morphometry MRI study Brain, May 1, 2006; 129(5): 1218 - 1228. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. van Amelsvoort, E. Daly, J. Henry, D. Robertson, V. Ng, M. Owen, K. C. Murphy, and D. G. M. Murphy Brain Anatomy in Adults With Velocardiofacial Syndrome With and Without Schizophrenia: Preliminary Results of a Structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study Arch Gen Psychiatry, November 1, 2004; 61(11): 1085 - 1096. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Get information about faster international access.

Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2003 American Psychiatric Association. All rights reserved.

Home | Search | Current Issue | Past Issues | Subscribe | All APPI Journals | Help | Contact Us