White Matter Hemisphere Asymmetries in Healthy Subjects and in Schizophrenia: A Diffusion Tensor MRI Study

H. J. Park, C.-F. Westin, M. Kubicki, S. E. Maier, M. Niznikiewicz, A. Baer, M. Frumin, R. Kikinis, F. A. Jolesz, R. W. McCarley, M. E. Shenton
Neuroimage
Volume 24, Pages 213-223
2004

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Abstract

Hemisphere asymmetry was explored in normal healthy subjects and in patients with schizophrenia using a novel voxel-based tensor analysis applied to fractional anisotropy (FA) of the diffusion tensor. Our voxelbased approach, which requires precise spatial normalization to remove the misalignment of fiber tracts, includes generating a symmetrical group average template of the diffusion tensor by applying nonlinear elastic warping of the demons algorithm. We then normalized all 32 diffusion tensor MRIs from healthy subjects and 23 from schizophrenic subjects to the symmetrical average template. For each brain, six channels of tensor component images and one T2- weighted image were used for registration to match tensor orientation and shape between images. A statistical evaluation of white matter asymmetry was then conducted on the normalized FA images and their flipped images. In controls, we found left-higher-than-right anisotropic asymmetry in the anterior part of the corpus callosum, cingulum bundle, the optic radiation, and the superior cerebellar peduncle, and right-higher-than-left anisotropic asymmetry in the anterior limb of the internal capsule and the anterior limb's prefrontal regions, in the uncinate fasciculus, and in the superior longitudinal fasciculus. In patients, the asymmetry was lower, although still present, in the cingulum bundle and the anterior corpus callosum, and not found in the anterior limb of the internal capsule, the uncinate fasciculus, and the superior cerebellar peduncle compared to healthy subjects. These findings of anisotropic asymmetry pattern differences between healthy controls and patients with schizophrenia are likely related to neurodevelopmental abnormalities in schizophrenia.

Coronal slices from a single diffusion tensor image (upper panel, A and B) and coronal slices from the symmetric average tensor template derived from 32 healthy subjects (lower panel, C and D). Major eigenvectors for each voxel are displayed with line (in-plane component of the eigenvector) and color (from green to red, out-of-plane component of the eigenvector) on the background image of fractional anisotropy.

Reference

Park HJ, Westin CF, Kubicki M, Maier SE, Niznikiewicz M, Baer A, Frumin M, Kikinis R, Jolesz FA, McCarley RW, Shenton ME. White matter hemisphere asymmetries in healthy subjects and in schizophrenia: A diffusion tensor MRI study. Neuroimage 2004;24:213-223.

Bibtex entry

@Article{parkNI04,
  author         = {H. J. Park and C.-F. Westin and M. Kubicki  and S. E. Maier
                   and M. Niznikiewicz and A. Baer and  M. Frumin and R.       
                   Kikinis and F. A. Jolesz and  R. W. McCarley and M. E.      
                   Shenton},                                                   
  title          = {White Matter Hemisphere Asymmetries in Healthy Subjects    
                   and in Schizophrenia: A Diffusion Tensor {MRI} Study},      
  journal        = {Neuroimage},                                               
  year           = {2004},                                                     
  volume         = {24},                                                       
  pages          = {213--223}
}

Grants

NIH P41-RR13218 (NAC), CIMIT

Research areas

DTMRI, Tensor,

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