Markus Huber1, Robert Christian Wolf2, Peter Lepping3, Erwin Kirchler1, Martin Karner4, Fabio Sambataro5, Bärbel Herrnberger6, Philip R Corlett7, Roland W Freudenmann6. 1. Department of Psychiatry, General Hospital Bruneck, South Tyrol, Italy. 2. Department of General Psychiatry, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Heidelberg University, Germany. Electronic address: christian.wolf@uni-heidelberg.de. 3. Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, Maelor Hospital, Centre for Mental Health and Society, Wrexham, Wales, UK. 4. Department of Radiology, General Hospital Bruneck, South Tyrol, Italy. 5. Department of Experimental & Clinical Medical Sciences, Udine University, Italy. 6. Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy III, Ulm University, Germany. 7. Department of Psychiatry, Yale University, Connecticut Mental Health Center, New Haven, CT, USA.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Monothematic delusional disorders are characterized by a single tenacious belief. They provide a great opportunity to study underlying brain structures in the absence of confounding symptoms that accompany delusions in schizophrenia. Delusional beliefs include persecution, jealousy or somatic delusions including infestation. It is unclear whether specific delusional content is associated with distinct neural substrates. METHODS: We used magnetic resonance imaging in patients presenting with somatic vs. non-somatic delusional disorders. Patients with delusional infestation (DI, n=18), and individuals with non-somatic delusional disorders (n=19) were included, together with healthy volunteers (n=20). Uni- and multivariate techniques for structural data analysis were applied to provide a comprehensive characterization of abnormal brain volume at both the regional and neural network level. RESULTS: Patients with DI showed lower gray matter volume in thalamic, striatal (putamen), insular and medial prefrontal brain regions in contrast to non-somatic delusional disorders and healthy controls. Importantly, these differences were consistently detected at regional and network level. Compared to healthy controls, patients with delusional disorders other than DI showed lower gray matter volume in temporal cortical regions. CONCLUSION: The data support the notion that dysfunctional somatosensory and peripersonal networks could mediate somatic delusions in patients with DI in contrast to delusional disorders without somatic content. The data also suggest putative content-specific neural signatures in delusional disorders and in delusion formation per se.
BACKGROUND: Monothematic delusional disorders are characterized by a single tenacious belief. They provide a great opportunity to study underlying brain structures in the absence of confounding symptoms that accompany delusions in schizophrenia. Delusional beliefs include persecution, jealousy or somatic delusions including infestation. It is unclear whether specific delusional content is associated with distinct neural substrates. METHODS: We used magnetic resonance imaging in patients presenting with somatic vs. non-somatic delusional disorders. Patients with delusional infestation (DI, n=18), and individuals with non-somatic delusional disorders (n=19) were included, together with healthy volunteers (n=20). Uni- and multivariate techniques for structural data analysis were applied to provide a comprehensive characterization of abnormal brain volume at both the regional and neural network level. RESULTS:Patients with DI showed lower gray matter volume in thalamic, striatal (putamen), insular and medial prefrontal brain regions in contrast to non-somatic delusional disorders and healthy controls. Importantly, these differences were consistently detected at regional and network level. Compared to healthy controls, patients with delusional disorders other than DI showed lower gray matter volume in temporal cortical regions. CONCLUSION: The data support the notion that dysfunctional somatosensory and peripersonal networks could mediate somatic delusions in patients with DI in contrast to delusional disorders without somatic content. The data also suggest putative content-specific neural signatures in delusional disorders and in delusion formation per se.
Authors: Peter Lepping; Sara Aboalkaz; Stephen Bertel Squire; Dmitry V Romanov; Anthony Bewley; Markus Huber; Eric O Noorthoorn Journal: Acta Derm Venereol Date: 2020-09-16 Impact factor: 3.875
Authors: Joshua Krämer; Markus Huber; Christina Mundinger; Mike M Schmitgen; Roger Pycha; Erwin Kirchler; Christian Macina; Martin Karner; Dusan Hirjak; Katharina M Kubera; Malte S Depping; Dmitry Romanov; Roland W Freudenmann; Robert Christian Wolf Journal: Cerebellum Ataxias Date: 2020-01-20