The role of white matter abnormality in the left anterior corona radiata: In relation to formal thought disorder in patients with schizophrenia

Abstract

White matter abnormality has been widely reported in patients with schizophrenia (Sz). However, few studies have focused on the relationship between the white matter deficit and formal thought disorder (FTD). Moreover, the role of genetic high risk in FTD-related white matter deficit remains unclear. The present study recruited 46 Sz patients, 18 unaffected first-degree relatives of Sz patients, and 29 healthy controls. There was a widespread fractional anisotropy (FA) reduction in Sz. In addition, reduced FA in the left anterior corona radiata was related to more severe FTD symptoms in Sz. However, the genetic high-risk group only showed lower mean FA in the left anterior limb of the internal capsule than healthy controls. Our findings suggest that abnormality in the left anterior corona radiata may only occur in Sz but not in the genetic high-risk group. Such an abnormality might be associated with the severity of FTD symptoms. Meanwhile, genetic vulnerability may contribute to the abnormality in the left anterior limb of the internal capsule. Better analytical methods are needed to validate our results.