Reality distortion is related to the structure of the salience network in schizophrenia.
L Palaniyappan, P Mallikarjun, V Joseph, T P White, P F Liddle
Psychological Medicine December 13, 2010 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291710002205 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Case-control study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 98 |
| Population | 57 clinically stable patients with schizophrenia and 41 controls |
| Keywords | Gyrus cinguli Cerebral cortex Nerve net Humans Magnetic resonance imaging Analysis of variance Case-control studies Schizophrenia Schizophrenic psychology Adult Male |
| Key findings | Patients with schizophrenia showed bilateral volume reduction in the anterior cingulate and anterior insula compared with controls. Reduced volume in the two left-sided salience-network regions correlated significantly with the severity of reality distortion. The authors suggest that grey-matter deficits in the salience network impair salience attribution, contributing to delusions and hallucinations. |
Abstract
Background: An intrinsic cerebral network comprising the anterior cingulate and anterior insula (the salience network) is considered to play an important role in salience detection in healthy volunteers. Aberrant salience has been proposed as an important mechanism in the production of psychotic symptoms such as delusions and hallucinations (reality distortion). We investigated whether structural deficits in the salience network are associated with the reality distortion seen in schizophrenia.
Method: A sample of 57 patients in a clinically stable state of schizophrenia and 41 controls were studied with high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging.
Results: Bilateral volume reduction was seen in the anterior cingulate and anterior insula in patients with schizophrenia. Reduced volume in the two left-sided regions of the salience network was significantly correlated with the severity of reality distortion.
Conclusions: These findings suggest that a deficit of grey matter in the salience network leads to an impaired attribution of salience to stimuli that is associated with delusions and hallucinations in schizophrenia.
Citations in the library
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