Peripheral oxytocin and vasopressin modulates regional brain activity differently in men and women with schizophrenia

Congress:

ECR 2018

Poster Number:

C-0137

Type:

Scientific Exhibit

Keywords:

CNS, Neuroradiology brain, Neuroradiology peripheral nerve, CT, MR, MR-Functional imaging, Imaging sequences, Computer Applications-3D, Image guided radiotherapy

Authors:

S. LI¹, L. RUBIN², L. Yao³, S. Lui³; ¹Chengdu, Si Chuan/CN, ²Chicago, IL/US, ³Chengdu/CN

DOI:

10.1594/ecr2018/C-0137

DOI-Link:

https://dx.doi.org/10.1594/ecr2018/C-0137

Fig. 1: Females: OT correlations with ALFF are higher in patients vs. controls in...

Fig. 2: Females: AVP modulation of regional brain activity in only controls in frontal...

Fig. 3: Males: OT modulation of regional brain activity in patients & controls.

Fig. 4: Males: AVP correlations with ALFF are higher in patients vs. controls in the...

Aims and objectives

Oxytocin (OT) and arginine vasopressin (AVP) exert sexually dimorphic effects on cognition and emotion processing in healthy individuals. [1]Abnormalities in these hormones are observed in schizophrenia and may contribute to cognitive and emotion processing deficits in a sex-dependent manner.[2,3] Here we examined sex-dependent hormone associations with resting brain activity and their clinical associations in schizophrenia patients relative to healthy controls.

Methods and materials

OT and AVP serum concentrations were assayed in 35 individuals with schizophrenia (12 women, 23 men) and 60 healthy individuals (36 women, 24 men) . Regional cerebral function was assessed with resting state fMRI by measuring the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) which are believed to reflect spontaneous neuronal activity during rest.

Results

In women, higher OT levels were associated with higher ALFF in frontal and cerebellar cortices in patients (p’s<0.05) versus controls.（figure 1） Higher AVP levels were also associated with lower ALFF in the superior temporal gyrus, anterior cingulate, and cerebellar cortex in patients (p’s<0.05) versus controls. In men, higher OT levels were associated with higher ALFF in the posterior cingulate and higher AVP levels were associated with higher ALFF in the frontal cortex in patients (p’s<0.05) versus controls. Furthermore, higher OT levels were associated with higher...

Conclusion

Associations with frontal and cerebellar cortices in female patients and the posterior cingulate in male patients may play sexually dimorphic roles in emotion processing and cognitive deficits in schizophrenia.

Personal information

Carter, C.S., Pournajafi-Nazarloo, H., Kramer, K.M., Ziegler, T.E., White-Traut, R., Bello, D., Schwertz, D., 2007. Oxytocin: behavioral associations and potential as a salivary biomarker. Ann N Y Acad Sci 1098, 312-322. Hill, S.K., Reilly, J.L., Keefe, R.S., Gold, J.M., Bishop, J.R., Gershon, E.S., Tamminga, C.A., Pearlson, G.D., Keshavan, M.S., Sweeney, J.A., 2013. Neuropsychological impairments in schizophrenia and psychotic bipolar disorder: findings from the Bipolar-Schizophrenia Network on Intermediate Phenotypes (B-SNIP) study. Am J Psychiatry 170(11), 1275-1284. Tamminga, C.A., Ivleva, E.I., Keshavan, M.S., Pearlson, G.D., Clementz, B.A.,...

References

1.Carter, C.S., Pournajafi-Nazarloo, H., Kramer, K.M., Ziegler, T.E., White-Traut, R., Bello, D., Schwertz, D., 2007. Oxytocin: behavioral associations and potential as a salivary biomarker. Ann N Y Acad Sci 1098, 312-322. 2.Hill, S.K., Reilly, J.L., Keefe, R.S., Gold, J.M., Bishop, J.R., Gershon, E.S., Tamminga, C.A., Pearlson, G.D., Keshavan, M.S., Sweeney, J.A., 2013. Neuropsychological impairments in schizophrenia and psychotic bipolar disorder: findings from the Bipolar-Schizophrenia Network on Intermediate Phenotypes (B-SNIP) study. Am J Psychiatry 170(11), 1275-1284. 3.Tamminga, C.A., Ivleva, E.I., Keshavan, M.S., Pearlson, G.D., Clementz, B.A.,...