Neurometabolic abnormalities in schizophrenia and depression observed with magnetic resonance spectroscopy at 7 T

Reggie Taylor; Elizabeth A Osuch; Betsy Schaefer; Nagalingam Rajakumar; Richard W J Neufeld; Jean Théberge; Peter C Williamson

doi:10.1192/bjpo.bp.116.003756

Neurometabolic abnormalities in schizophrenia and depression observed with magnetic resonance spectroscopy at 7 T

BJPsych Open. 2017 Feb 2;3(1):6-11. doi: 10.1192/bjpo.bp.116.003756. eCollection 2017 Jan.

Authors

Reggie Taylor¹, Elizabeth A Osuch², Betsy Schaefer³, Nagalingam Rajakumar⁴, Richard W J Neufeld⁵, Jean Théberge⁶, Peter C Williamson⁷

Affiliations

¹ , PhD, Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada; Lawson Health Research Institute, London, Ontario, Canada.
² , MD, Department of Medical Biophysics; Department of Psychiatry, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada.
³ , BSc, Department of Psychiatry, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada.
⁴ , PhD, Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada.
⁵ , PhD, Department of Psychology; Department of Neuroscience, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada.
⁶ , PhD, Department of Medical Biophysics, Department of Psychiatry, Department of Medical Imaging, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada; Lawson Health Research Institute, London, Ontario, Canada; St. Joseph's Health Care, Department of Diagnostic Imaging, London, Ontario, Canada.
⁷ , MD, Department of Medical Biophysics, Department of Psychiatry, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada; Lawson Health Research Institute, London, Ontario, Canada.

Abstract

Background: Examining neurometabolic abnormalities in critical brain areas in schizophrenia and major depressive disorder (MDD) may help guide future pharmacological interventions including glutamate-modulating treatments.

Aims: To measure metabolite concentrations within the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and thalamus of people with schizophrenia and people with MDD.

Methods: Spectra were acquired from 16 volunteers with schizophrenia, 17 with MDD and 18 healthy controls using magnetic resonance spectroscopy on a 7 Tesla scanner.

Results: In the thalamus, there were lower glycine concentrations in the schizophrenia group relative to control (P=0.017) and MDD groups (P=0.012), and higher glutamine concentrations relative to healthy controls (P=0.009). In the thalamus and the ACC, the MDD group had lower myo-inositol concentrations than the control (P=0.014, P=0.009, respectively) and schizophrenia (P=0.004, P=0.002, respectively) groups.

Conclusion: These results support the glutamatergic theory of schizophrenia and indicate a potential glycine deficiency in the thalamus. In addition, reduced myo-inositol concentrations in MDD suggest its involvement in the disorder.

Declaration of interest: None.

Copyright and usage: © The Royal College of Psychiatrists 2017. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Non-Commercial, No Derivatives (CC BY-NC-ND) license.