Visual hallucinations are associated with hyperconnectivity between the amygdala and visual cortex in people with a diagnosis of schizophrenia

Judith M Ford; Vanessa A Palzes; Brian J Roach; Steven G Potkin; Theo G M van Erp; Jessica A Turner; Bryon A Mueller; Vincent D Calhoun; Jim Voyvodic; Aysenil Belger; Juan Bustillo; Jatin G Vaidya; Adrian Preda; Sarah C McEwen; Daniel H Mathalon; Functional Imaging Biomedical Informatics Research Network

doi:10.1093/schbul/sbu031

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Visual hallucinations are associated with hyperconnectivity between the amygdala and visual cortex in people with a diagnosis of schizophrenia

Journal article

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Visual hallucinations are associated with hyperconnectivity between the amygdala and visual cortex in people with a diagnosis of schizophrenia

Judith M Ford, Vanessa A Palzes, Brian J Roach, Steven G Potkin, Theo G M van Erp, Jessica A Turner, Bryon A Mueller, Vincent D Calhoun, Jim Voyvodic, Aysenil Belger, …

Schizophrenia bulletin, Vol.41(1), pp.223-232

01/2015

DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbu031

PMCID: PMC4266287

PMID: 24619536

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Abstract

While auditory verbal hallucinations (AH) are a cardinal symptom of schizophrenia, people with a diagnosis of schizophrenia (SZ) may also experience visual hallucinations (VH). In a retrospective analysis of a large sample of SZ and healthy controls (HC) studied as part of the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) Biomedical Informatics Research Network (FBIRN), we asked if SZ who endorsed experiencing VH during clinical interviews had greater connectivity between visual cortex and limbic structures than SZ who did not endorse experiencing VH. We analyzed resting state fMRI data from 162 SZ and 178 age- and gender-matched HC. SZ were sorted into groups according to clinical ratings on AH and VH: SZ with VH (VH-SZ; n = 45), SZ with AH but no VH (AH-SZ; n = 50), and SZ with neither AH nor VH (NoH-SZ; n = 67). Our primary analysis was seed based, extracting connectivity between visual cortex and the amygdala (because of its role in fear and negative emotion) and visual cortex and the hippocampus (because of its role in memory). Compared with the other groups, VH-SZ showed hyperconnectivity between the amygdala and visual cortex, specifically BA18, with no differences in connectivity among the other groups. In a voxel-wise, whole brain analysis comparing VH-SZ with AH-SZ, the amygdala was hyperconnected to left temporal pole and inferior frontal gyrus in VH-SZ, likely due to their more severe thought broadcasting. VH-SZ have hyperconnectivity between subcortical areas subserving emotion and cortical areas subserving higher order visual processing, providing biological support for distressing VH in schizophrenia.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Amygdala - physiopathology

Humans

Middle Aged

Prefrontal Cortex - physiopathology

Male

Schizophrenia - complications

Hallucinations - physiopathology

Hallucinations - etiology

Case-Control Studies

Temporal Lobe - physiopathology

Functional Neuroimaging

Schizophrenia - physiopathology

Adult

Female

Retrospective Studies

Neural Pathways - physiopathology

Visual Cortex - physiopathology

Details

Title: Subtitle: Visual hallucinations are associated with hyperconnectivity between the amygdala and visual cortex in people with a diagnosis of schizophrenia
Creators: Judith M Ford - Psychiatry Service, San Francisco VA Medical Center, San Francisco, CA; Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, CA; Judith.Ford@ucsf.edu
Vanessa A Palzes - Psychiatry Service, San Francisco VA Medical Center, San Francisco, CA; Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, CA
Brian J Roach - Psychiatry Service, San Francisco VA Medical Center, San Francisco, CA; Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, CA
Steven G Potkin - Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of California, Irvine, CA
Theo G M van Erp - Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of California, Irvine, CA
Jessica A Turner - Mind Research Network, Albuquerque, NM; Departments of Psychology and Neuroscience, Georgia State University, Atlanta GA
Bryon A Mueller - Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN
Vincent D Calhoun - Mind Research Network, Albuquerque, NM; Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM
Jim Voyvodic - Brain Imaging and Analysis Center, University of North Carolina-Duke University, Durham, NC
Aysenil Belger - Brain Imaging and Analysis Center, University of North Carolina-Duke University, Durham, NC; Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina, Durham, NC
Juan Bustillo - Department of Psychiatry, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM
Jatin G Vaidya - Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
Adrian Preda - Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of California, Irvine, CA
Sarah C McEwen - Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, CA
Daniel H Mathalon - Psychiatry Service, San Francisco VA Medical Center, San Francisco, CA; Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, CA
Functional Imaging Biomedical Informatics Research Network
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Schizophrenia bulletin, Vol.41(1), pp.223-232
DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbu031
PMID: 24619536
PMCID: PMC4266287
NLM abbreviation: Schizophr Bull
ISSN: 0586-7614
eISSN: 1745-1701
Publisher: United States
Grant note: U54 EB020403 / NIBIB NIH HHS R01 MH058262 / NIMH NIH HHS U24RR021992 / NCRR NIH HHS
Language: English
Date published: 01/2015
Academic Unit: Psychiatry; Iowa Neuroscience Institute; University College Courses
Record Identifier: 9984004188302771

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