Correlation between brain gray matter volume changes and neurotransmitter receptors/transporters in patients with first-episode schizophrenia
10.3760/cma.j.cn371468-20250515-00216
- VernacularTitle:首发精神分裂症患者脑灰质体积改变与神经递质受体/转运体水平的相关性
- Author:
Huan HUANG
1
;
Xiaowei WANG
;
Cheng CHEN
;
Wei YUAN
;
Yunlong PENG
;
Xuan QIN
;
Ying XIONG
;
Rui XU
;
Huiling WANG
Author Information
1. 武汉大学人民医院精神卫生中心，武汉 430060
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
First-episode schizophrenia;
Structural magnetic resonance imaging;
Gray matter volume;
Neurotransmitter;
Receptor;
Transporter
- From:
Chinese Journal of Behavioral Medicine and Brain Science
2025;34(10):885-890
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Objective:To explore the spatial correlation between gray matter volume (GMV) changes and neurotransmitter receptors/transporters in patients with first-episode schizophrenia (FES) .Methods:Fifty-four FES patients(FES group) and fifty-nine healthy controls (HC group) were selected from June 2014 to May 2020 in the Psychiatry Department of Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University. Structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI) was conducted on all subjects. Differences of GMV were compared across 400 cortical regions and 32 subcortical regions. Based on the positron emission tomography(PET) data from Neuromaps, which provides the density of 19 different neurotransmitter receptors and transporters, Spearman correlation analysis was performed to evaluate the spatial correlation between GMV changes and neurotransmitter systems.Results:Compared to the HC group, FES group exhibited significant GMV reductions in widespread cortical (90/400) and subcortical (6/32) regions (all FDR-corrected P<0.05). The effect size of GMV reduction (Cohen’s d) showed significant positive correlations with the density of 5-hydroxytryptamine 1a(5HT1a) ( r=0.400, Pspin=0.002), γ-aminobutyric acid type A receptor(GABA A)( r=0.307, Pspin=0.002), and metabotropic glutamate receptor 5(mGluR5) ( r=0.275, Pspin=0.020) receptors (all FDR-corrected P<0.05). Conclusion:GMV reductions in a wide range of brain regions existed in patients with FES. There are significant correlations between 5HT1a, GABA A and mGluR5 receptors and gray matter reduction in patients with FES. The disorder of these neurotransmitter receptors may be the potential neurobiological mechanism of gray matter structural abnormalities in the early stage of schizophrenia.
