Correlation Between Cortical Thickness Abnormalities of the Olfactory Sulcus and Olfactory Identification Disorder and Persistent Auditory Verbal Hallucinations in Chinese Patients With Chronic Schizophrenia

Honghong Ren; Zongchang Li; Jinguang Li; Jun Zhou; Ying He; Chunwang Li; Qianjin Wang; Xiaogang Chen; Jinsong Tang

doi:10.1093/schbul/sbae040

Correlation Between Cortical Thickness Abnormalities of the Olfactory Sulcus and Olfactory Identification Disorder and Persistent Auditory Verbal Hallucinations in Chinese Patients With Chronic Schizophrenia

Schizophr Bull. 2024 Apr 5:sbae040. doi: 10.1093/schbul/sbae040. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Honghong Ren^{1

2

3}, Zongchang Li³, Jinguang Li³, Jun Zhou³, Ying He³, Chunwang Li⁴, Qianjin Wang^{1

2

3}, Xiaogang Chen³, Jinsong Tang^{5

6

7}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Clinical Psychology, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, Shandong, China.
² Department of Clinical Psychology, Shandong Provincial Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China.
³ Department of Psychiatry, National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, and National Center for Mental Disorders, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
⁴ Department of Radiology, Hunan Children's Hospital, Changsha, China.
⁵ Department of Psychiatry, Sir Run-Run Shaw Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
⁶ Hunan Provincial Brain Hospital (The second people's Hospital of Hunan Province), Changsha, China.
⁷ Zigong Mental Health Center, Zigong, China.

PMID: 38577952
DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbae040

Abstract

Background and hypothesis: Persistent auditory verbal hallucinations (pAVHs) and olfactory identification impairment are common in schizophrenia (SCZ), but the neuroimaging mechanisms underlying both pAVHs and olfactory identification impairment are unclear. This study aimed to investigate whether pAVHs and olfactory identification impairment in SCZ patients are associated with changes in cortical thickness.

Study design: In this study, cortical thickness was investigated in 78 SCZ patients with pAVHs (pAVH group), 58 SCZ patients without AVHs (non-AVH group), and 83 healthy controls (HC group) using 3T magnetic resonance imaging. The severity of pAVHs was assessed by the Auditory Hallucination Rating Scale. Olfactory identification deficits were assessed using the Odor Stick Identification Test for Japanese (OSIT-J). In addition, the relationship between the severity of pAVHs and olfactory identification disorder and cortical thickness abnormalities was determined.

Study results: Significant reductions in cortical thickness were observed in the right medial orbital sulcus (olfactory sulcus) and right orbital sulcus (H-shaped sulcus) in the pAVH group compared to both the non-AVH and HC groups (P < .003, Bonferroni correction). Furthermore, the severity of pAVHs was found to be negatively correlated with the reduction in cortical thickness in the olfactory sulcus and H-shaped sulcus. Additionally, a decrease in cortical thickness in the olfactory sulcus showed a positive correlation with the OSIT-J scores (P < .05, false discovery rate correction).

Conclusions: Cortical thickness abnormalities in the olfactory sulcus may be a common neuroimaging mechanism for pAVHs and olfactory identification deficits in SCZ patients.

Keywords: cortical thickness; imaging; olfactory identification impairment; olfactory sulcus; persistent auditory verbal hallucinations; schizophrenia.

Grants and funding

82171495/National Natural Science Foundation of China