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Clinical Trial
. 2011 Apr;168(4):418-26.
doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2010.10020165. Epub 2010 Dec 15.

Correlation of individual differences in schizotypal personality traits with amphetamine-induced dopamine release in striatal and extrastriatal brain regions

Neil D Woodward  1 , Ronald L Cowan, Sohee Park, M Sib Ansari, Ronald M Baldwin, Rui Li, Mikisha Doop, Robert M Kessler, David H Zald
Affiliations
Clinical Trial

Correlation of individual differences in schizotypal personality traits with amphetamine-induced dopamine release in striatal and extrastriatal brain regions

Neil D Woodward et al. Am J Psychiatry. 2011 Apr.

Abstract

Objective: Schizotypal personality traits are associated with schizophrenia spectrum disorders, and individuals with schizophrenia spectrum disorders demonstrate increased dopamine transmission in the striatum. The authors sought to determine whether individual differences in normal variation in schizotypal traits are correlated with dopamine transmission in the striatum and in extrastriatal brain regions.

Method: Sixty-three healthy volunteers with no history of psychiatric illness completed the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire and underwent positron emission tomography imaging with [(18)F]fallypride at baseline and after administration of oral d-amphetamine (0.43 mg/kg). Dopamine release, quantified by subtracting each participant's d-amphetamine scan from his or her baseline scan, was correlated with Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire total and factor scores using region-of-interest and voxel-wise analyses.

Results: Dopamine release in the striatum was positively correlated with overall schizotypal traits. The association was especially robust in the associative subdivision of the striatum. Voxel-wise analyses identified additional correlations between dopamine release and schizotypal traits in the left middle frontal gyrus and left supramarginal gyrus. Exploratory analyses of Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire factor scores revealed correlations between dopamine release and disorganized schizotypal traits in the striatum, thalamus, medial prefrontal cortex, temporal lobe, insula, and inferior frontal cortex.

Conclusions: The association between dopamine signaling and psychosis phenotypes extends to individual differences in normal variation in schizotypal traits and involves dopamine transmission in both striatal and extrastriatal brain regions. Amphetamine-induced dopamine release may be a useful endophenotype for investigating the genetic basis of schizophrenia spectrum disorders.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest statement: Dr. Robert M. Kessler holds a patent for the use of Fallypride in humans, although there are no plans currently to use it commercially. None of the remaining authors report any conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Correlation between schizotypal traits and dopamine release in the striatum. (A) Voxel-wise analysis restricted to the striatum revealed positive correlations between Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire total score and dopamine release in bilateral striatum. Image thresholded at p=.05 (small volume correction). Scatter plots depicting correlation between SPQ total score and dopamine release in the (B) left (C) right striatum clusters.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Correlation between schizotypal traits and cortical dopamine release. (A) Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire total score correlated with dopamine release in the left middle frontal gyrus and inferior parietal lobule. Image thresholded at p=.05 (whole-brain cluster-level corrected). Scatter plots depicting correlation between dopamine release and schizotypal traits in the (B) left middle frontal gyrus and (C) left supramarginal gyrus.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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