Summary: A recent global study reveals that dementia affects different brain regions, reflecting the variety of symptoms that each patient experiences. Researchers compared the imaging data of over 6, 000 people and discovered that while some mind structures vary drastically, others remain very uniform.
Patients ‘ mid-frontal head folding patterns were consistently identical, indicating a less flexible early-child development process. These findings emphasize the need for precise medical treatments that are specific to each patient’s neurobiology page.
Major Information
- Mental Structure Variability: Schizophrenia people show significant differences in brain surface area and texture.
- First Developmental Trait: First development rigidity in schizophrenia is suggested by consistent mind folding in the mid-frontal region.
- Potential for precision medicine: Determining architectural variations could lead to individualized treatment plans.
Origin: University of Zurich
The signs of psychosis vary considerably from person to person. A recent study reveals how these variations affect the brain’s construction.
Schizophrenia is a difficult mental health condition that affects belief, thought and feelings. This difficulty is reflected in the specific manifestations of the disorder: for some patients, visual disturbances are the primary problem, while for others, mental impairments are more common.
” In this perception, there is not one dementia, but several, each with different physiological information”, says Wolfgang Omlor, primary author of the study and top doctor at the University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich.
A precision medicine approach would need to be used to address each of these types of schizophrenia, for instance, by using therapies that precisely correspond to the respective neurobiological profile.
This calls for methods that examine both individual differences and similarities at the neurobiological level, Omlor explains.
Comprehensive analysis of patients ‘ brain structures across the globe
Which brain networks exhibit high levels of individuality and similarities, according to Wolfgang Omlor and the University of Zurich’s research team’s international multicenter study?
The researchers examined a number of traits, including the thickness and surface area of the cerebral cortex as well as the volume and pattern of the deeper brain regions ‘ folding.
The data was taken from the ENIGMA collaboration, an international research project that combined imaging data from more than 6, 000 people in 22 countries. The variability of brain structure could be studied with a high degree of reliability by comparing the brain structures of several thousand patients with schizophrenia to those who are healthy.
Early brain development revealed a less flexible brain development.
The uniformity of brain folding in the mid-frontal area suggests a developmental trait common to those with schizophrenia, even though the variations in symptoms may reflect differences between patients.
Brain development during this time appears to be less flexible in schizophrenia patients, especially in areas that link thinking and feeling processes because brain folding is largely completed in the early years.
According to Philipp Homan, professor at the University of Zurich and corresponding author of the study,” These findings broaden our understanding of the neurobiological basis of schizophrenia.”
Regions with high brain structure variability may be useful for the development of individualized treatment strategies, even though uniform brain folding might indicate potential mechanisms of disease development.
About this news from the schizophrenia research
Author: Barbara Simpson
Source: University of Zurich
Contact: Barbara Simpson – University of Zurich
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News
Original Research: Open access.
A Worldwide ENIGMA Study, Philipp Homan and colleagues,” Estimating Multimodal Structural Brain Variability in Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders: A Global Study.” American Journal of Psychiatry
Abstract
A Worldwide ENIGMA Study: Estimating Multimodal Structural Brain Variability in Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders
Objective:
The authors synthesized research that examined whether lowering anticholinergic medications had an impact on cognitive function in people with psychosis and examined studies that examined whether lowering anticholinergic medications had an impact on cognitive function in those with psychosis.
Methods:
A database search was conducted in MEDLINE, Embase, and PsycINFO, from database inception to October 2023, for studies reporting objective cognitive assessment and quantification of anticholinergic burden using clinical scales, serological anticholinergic activity, or tapering of anticholinergic medications. Analyses were carried out in R using the , metafor , package. Random-effects meta-analysis models were employed, along with assessment of heterogeneity, study quality, and meta-regressions ( age, sex, and antipsychotic dosage in chlorpromazine equivalents ).
Results:
Of 1, 337 citations retrieved, 40 met inclusion criteria, comprising 25 anticholinergic burden studies (4, 620 patients ), six serological anticholinergic activity studies ( 382 patients ), and nine tapering studies ( 186 patients ). A negative correlation was identified between anticholinergic burden and global cognition ( r=−0.37, 95 % CI=−0.48, −0.25 ), verbal learning ( r=−0.28, 95 % CI=−0.36, −0.21 ), visual learning ( r=−0.17, 95 % CI=−0.28, −0.06 ), working memory ( r=−0.22, 95 % CI=−0.29, −0.14 ), processing speed ( r=−0.24, 95 % CI=−0.35, −0.13 ), attention ( r=−0.19, 95 % CI=−0.29, −0.08 ), executive functions ( r=−0.17, 95 % CI=−0.27, −0.06 ), and social cognition ( r=−0.12, 95 % CI=−0.19, −0.05 ), and between serological anticholinergic activity and verbal learning ( r=−0.26, 95 % CI=−0.38, −0.14 ), working memory ( r=−0.19, 95 % CI=−0.35, −0.03 ), and executive functions ( r=−0.16, 95 % CI=−0.27, −0.04 ). Finally, tapering off anticholinergic medication improved the scores in verbal learning ( d=0.77, 95 % CI=0.44, 1.1 ), working memory ( d=0.94, 95 % CI=0.63, 1.26 ), and executive functions ( d=0.44, 95 % CI=0.26, 0.62 ).
Conclusions:
The cognitive declines that psychosis has seen are related to the anticholinergic burden. Cognitive improvement may be achieved when patients with psychosis stop taking anticholinergic medications. Randomized clinical trials are necessary, though, to obtain an objectively quantified benefit.
