Publications by authors named "Ellen Ji"
Article Synopsis
- Formal thought disorder (FTD) is a key symptom of schizophrenia, but its exact neurobiological causes and correlation with brain volume loss are still unclear, which this study seeks to address using a large cohort of patients and controls.
- The research focuses on differentiating between positive, negative, and total formal thought disorder while investigating brain structural changes and their cellular bases using virtual histology tools.
- Findings reveal distinct neural networks for positive and negative FTD, with negative FTD showing preserved orbitofrontal thickness and both FTD types linked to unique cellular fingerprint patterns, advancing our understanding of the disorder.
Article Synopsis
- Schizophrenia is characterized by significant changes in brain structure, but it's not clear if these changes relate to the brain's network organization.
- Researchers analyzed MRI scans from nearly 2,500 people with schizophrenia alongside healthy controls to see how structural changes connect to brain networks.
- The study found that certain regions in the brain that are crucial for connectivity are more affected in schizophrenia, indicating a link between brain network vulnerability and the disease's impact, with some similarities to bipolar disorder but not major depressive disorder.
Article Synopsis
- Previous research has indicated that the innate immune system, particularly through Toll-like receptors (TLRs), may play a role in schizophrenia (SZ), with TLRs reacting to pathogens like bacteria and viruses.
- A study comparing TLR levels in white blood cells of 86 SZ patients and 77 healthy controls found higher TLR4 and TLR8 levels and lower TLR3 levels in those with SZ, suggesting enhanced immune activation.
- The study also revealed a link between TLR levels and the thickness of the cingulate gyrus, implying that bacterial influences might be more significant than viral ones in SZ, contributing to changes in brain structure.
Article Synopsis
- A study investigates the connection between formal thought disorder (FTD) symptoms in schizophrenia and brain volume deficiencies, using data from 752 individuals with schizophrenia and 1256 controls.
- The research identifies separate neural networks associated with positive and negative FTD, revealing differences in brain structures affected by each type of symptom.
- Findings show that negative FTD is linked to specific neuronal and astrocyte cell types, while positive FTD is associated with microglial cells, enhancing understanding of the biological mechanisms behind these symptoms.
Article Synopsis
- Formal thought disorder (FTD) significantly impacts schizophrenia, yet its neurobiological causes, particularly the connection between FTD symptoms and brain volume changes, are largely unexplored.
- This study, involving a large cohort of 752 individuals with schizophrenia and 1256 controls, aims to clarify the neuroanatomical aspects of positive and negative FTD and their cellular foundations using advanced virtual histology techniques.
- Results revealed two distinct neural networks for FTD: one linked to negative symptoms, with preserved orbitofrontal thickness, and another for positive symptoms, affecting lateral temporal areas; each network had unique cellular signatures, highlighting different underlying mechanisms for these psychotic symptoms.
Article Synopsis
- The study looked at how the brain's left and right sides might differ in people with schizophrenia compared to those without it, using brain scans from over 5,000 patients and 6,000 control subjects.
- Researchers found that people with schizophrenia had slightly thinner areas in the left side of their brains, especially in certain regions, compared to those without the disorder.
- The differences in brain structure might be linked to how schizophrenia affects brain functions, like language, but more research is needed to understand why they happen.
Article Synopsis
- Schizophrenia can make the brain age faster, leading to more cognitive problems and health issues.
- A study looked at brain scans of 2,803 people with schizophrenia and 2,598 healthy people to see how much older their brains looked compared to their actual ages.
- The results showed that people with schizophrenia had brains that looked about 3.55 years older than they should be, but this wasn’t linked to how long they had the illness or how severe their symptoms were.
Article Synopsis
- - Growing evidence suggests that the complement system may play a role in schizophrenia, but the specific disturbances in complement factors among patients are not fully understood.
- - In a study with 75 healthy controls and 90 patients with schizophrenia, researchers analyzed blood samples and MRI scans to assess complement factor levels and cortical thickness.
- - Findings revealed increased levels of specific complement receptors, regulators, and proteins in schizophrenia patients, with elevated C4a levels linked to higher inflammation and reduced cortical thickness in certain brain regions.
Article Synopsis
- Noninvasive brain stimulation methods, like TMS and tDCS, show promise for treating psychiatric conditions but current research reveals inconsistent results from randomized controlled trials (RCTs).
- The study analyzed 130 RCTs with nearly 5,748 patients to determine if individual responses to treatment varied significantly between active stimulation and sham treatments.
- Findings indicated only a slight and statistically insignificant increase in variability with active stimulation (variability ratio of 1.03), suggesting that the evidence for personalized treatment approaches in brain stimulation is still uncertain.
Article Synopsis
- The global neuronal workspace (GNW) theory suggests that conscious awareness depends on extensive brain connectivity for coding conscious thoughts, and patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder show disruptions in this connectivity and heightened thresholds for consciousness.
- This study aimed to explore how structural connectivity correlates with consciousness thresholds in individuals with varying psychosis levels, using visual masking techniques and diffusion MRI to analyze connections in the brain.
- Results indicated that psychosis patients had higher masking thresholds than healthy controls, with a negative correlation between these thresholds and the integrity of white matter tracts in the GNW, indicating that disrupted connectivity may contribute to conscious access issues and relate to psychotic symptoms.
Article Synopsis
- High levels of glucocorticoids are harmful to the brain, but the adrenal steroid DHEA has protective effects and is linked to schizophrenia with altered levels and ratios.
- A study compared serum DHEA and cortisol/DHEA ratios in 94 people with schizophrenia and 81 healthy controls, finding higher DHEA and lower cortisol/DHEA ratios in patients.
- The cortisol/DHEA ratio correlated negatively with brain volumes in key regions, suggesting it could indicate brain damage and highlighting the importance of DHEA in understanding schizophrenia's mechanisms.
Article Synopsis
- * A study involving 59 men and 38 women with schizophrenia tested raloxifene (120 mg/day) for its effect on testosterone and symptoms, revealing that male patients had lower baseline testosterone levels compared to healthy controls.
- * Raloxifene increased testosterone levels in the male patients, but its effects did not depend on the AR gene variant, indicating other factors may affect stress perception and symptom severity in men with schizophrenia.
Article Synopsis
- Schizophrenia (SZ) and bipolar disorder (BD) are both linked to abnormalities in deep white matter connections and are considered "disconnection syndromes," but recent research suggests that superficial white matter (SWM) short-range tracts also play a vital role in these conditions.* -
- A study using diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) examined SWM microstructure in SZ and BD patients versus healthy controls, revealing significant differences in 17 SWM bundles associated with key functions like language, mood, memory, and motor skills.* -
- Results showed decreased generalized fractional anisotropy (gFA) in both disorder groups compared to controls, with SZ patients exhibiting increased gFA in areas connected to the default mode network,
From the microscope to the magnet: Disconnection in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
Neurosci Biobehav Rev
March 2019
Article Synopsis
- - The article reviews studies on white matter abnormalities in schizophrenia (SZ) and bipolar disorder (BD), aiming to determine whether these issues are shared between the two conditions or distinct to each.
- - Most research indicates no significant differences in white matter changes between SZ and BD, highlighting common alterations in brain structures such as the thalamic radiations and corpus callosum, as well as cellular changes like oligodendrocyte density and myelin staining.
- - The integration of neuroimaging and neuropathological methods suggests that both disorders exhibit shared disconnectivity, emphasizing the importance of focusing on clinical features rather than solely on specific diagnoses for better understanding and prevention strategies.
Article Synopsis
- - Growing evidence indicates that testosterone might influence schizophrenia, particularly in relation to cognition and negative symptoms, prompting an investigation into its connection with neural activity in emotion processing among men with this condition.
- - The study involved 32 healthy controls and 26 individuals with schizophrenia undergoing fMRI while identifying facial emotions, revealing that healthy participants showed higher activation in the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) compared to those with schizophrenia.
- - Results demonstrated a significant positive correlation between serum testosterone levels and IFG activation in men with schizophrenia, suggesting that testosterone may affect emotional processing and social functioning in this group, while no such relationship was found in healthy men.
Article Synopsis
- - The study compared pain sensitivity between Asians and non-Hispanic Whites, revealing that Asians displayed lower pain thresholds and tolerance levels during a cold pain test compared to Whites.
- - While there were no significant differences in mean arterial pressure (MAP) or heart rate (HR) response to stress, specific correlations were found: for Whites, higher stress MAP was linked to reduced pain sensitivity, while for Asians, higher baseline and stress HR corresponded to lower pain sensitivity.
- - Additionally, Asians reported greater parental expectations and criticism, and higher perfectionism levels in this group were associated with increased anxiety, depressive symptoms, and perceived stress, indicating distinct psychosocial factors that could influence pain sensitivity between the two ethnic groups.