Exploring neural substrates of heterogeneity of schizophrenia with a data-driven approach

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 24591706
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Psychiatric science
• Research Institution: Kyoto University
• Principal Investigator: SUGIHARA Genichi 京都大学, 医学(系)研究科(研究院), 助教 (70402261)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): OISHI Naoya 京都大学, 医学研究科, 助教 (40526878) ; MIYATA Jun 京都大学, 医学研究科, 助教 (90549099)
• Project Period (FY): 2012-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: 統合失調症 / 脳画像解析

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Schizophrenia is a syndrome with with multiple etiologies and symptoms, that is, heterogeneous. Although recent neuroimaging studies have revealed alterations of brain structure and function in the disorder, the majorities of the studies have not paid attention to the heterogeneity of schizophrenia. We explored neural substrates of the heterogeneity with a neuroimaging data-driven approach, i.e., the self-organizing map analysis. With this approach using data of patterns of cortical thickness, we identified several clusters in schizophrenia patients. In addition, some clusters were linked to clinical characteristics, such as medication and symptoms. Our findings suggest that the approach using the self-organizing map enables us to address the heterogeneity of schizophrenia.

Free Research Field

精神医学