Correlations between cortical gyrification and schizophrenia symptoms with and without comorbid hostility symptoms

Stefano Ferracuti; Antonio Del Casale; Andrea Romano; Ida Gualtieri; Martina Lucignani; Antonio Napolitano; Martina Nicole Modesti; Andrea Buscajoni; Teodolinda Zoppi; Georgios D Kotzalidis; Lorenza Manelfi; Eleonora de Pisa; Paolo Girardi; Gabriele Mandarelli; Giovanna Parmigiani; Maria Camilla Rossi-Espagnet; Maurizio Pompili; Alessandro Bozzao

doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2022.1092784

Correlations between cortical gyrification and schizophrenia symptoms with and without comorbid hostility symptoms

Front Psychiatry. 2023 Jan 4:13:1092784. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.1092784. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Stefano Ferracuti^{1

2}, Antonio Del Casale^{3

4}, Andrea Romano^{5

6}, Ida Gualtieri⁵, Martina Lucignani⁷, Antonio Napolitano⁷, Martina Nicole Modesti^{4

5}, Andrea Buscajoni⁵, Teodolinda Zoppi⁵, Georgios D Kotzalidis⁵, Lorenza Manelfi⁵, Eleonora de Pisa^{4

5}, Paolo Girardi^{3

4}, Gabriele Mandarelli⁸, Giovanna Parmigiani¹, Maria Camilla Rossi-Espagnet^{5

8}, Maurizio Pompili^{4

5}, Alessandro Bozzao^{5

6}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Human Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy.
² Unit of Risk Management, Sant'Andrea University Hospital, Rome, Italy.
³ Department of Dynamic and Clinical Psychology, and Health Studies, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy.
⁴ Unit of Psychiatry, Sant'Andrea University Hospital, Rome, Italy.
⁵ Department of Neuroscience, Mental Health and Sensory Organs, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy.
⁶ Unit of Neuroradiology, Sant'Andrea University Hospital, Rome, Italy.
⁷ IRCCS Bambino Gesù, Rome, Italy.
⁸ Department of Interdisciplinary Medicine, Section of Criminology and Forensic Psychiatry, University of Bari, Bari, Italy.

Abstract

Introduction: Interest in identifying the clinical implications of the neuropathophysiological background of schizophrenia is rising, including changes in cortical gyrification that may be due to neurodevelopmental abnormalities. Inpatients with schizophrenia can show abnormal gyrification of cortical regions correlated with the symptom severity.

Methods: Our study included 36 patients that suffered an acute episode of schizophrenia and have undergone structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to calculate the local gyrification index (LGI).

Results: In the whole sample, the severity of symptoms significantly correlated with higher LGI in different cortical areas, including bilateral frontal, cingulate, parietal, temporal cortices, and right occipital cortex. Among these areas, patients with low hostility symptoms (LHS) compared to patients with high hostility symptoms (HHS) showed significantly lower LGI related to the severity of symptoms in bilateral frontal and temporal lobes.

Discussion: The severity of psychopathology correlated with higher LGI in large portions of the cerebral cortex, possibly expressing abnormal neural development in schizophrenia. These findings could pave the way for further studies and future tailored diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.

Keywords: gyrification; hostility; magnetic resonance imaging; neuroimaging; psychosis; schizophrenia.

Copyright © 2023 Ferracuti, Del Casale, Romano, Gualtieri, Lucignani, Napolitano, Modesti, Buscajoni, Zoppi, Kotzalidis, Manelfi, de Pisa, Girardi, Mandarelli, Parmigiani, Rossi-Espagnet, Pompili and Bozzao.