Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2016 Nov;281(2):357-372.
doi: 10.1148/radiol.2016152149.

Psychoradiology: The Frontier of Neuroimaging in Psychiatry

Su Lui  1 , Xiaohong Joe Zhou  1 , John A Sweeney  1 , Qiyong Gong  1
Affiliations
Review

Psychoradiology: The Frontier of Neuroimaging in Psychiatry

Su Lui et al. Radiology. 2016 Nov.

Abstract

Unlike neurologic conditions, such as brain tumors, dementia, and stroke, the neural mechanisms for all psychiatric disorders remain unclear. A large body of research obtained with structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging, positron emission tomography/single photon emission computed tomography, and optical imaging has demonstrated regional and illness-specific brain changes at the onset of psychiatric disorders and in individuals at risk for such disorders. Many studies have shown that psychiatric medications induce specific measurable changes in brain anatomy and function that are related to clinical outcomes. As a result, a new field of radiology, termed psychoradiology, seems primed to play a major clinical role in guiding diagnostic and treatment planning decisions in patients with psychiatric disorders. This article will present the state of the art in this area, as well as perspectives regarding preparations in the field of radiology for its evolution. Furthermore, this article will (a) give an overview of the imaging and analysis methods for psychoradiology; (b) review the most robust and important radiologic findings and their potential clinical value from studies of major psychiatric disorders, such as depression and schizophrenia; and (c) describe the main challenges and future directions in this field. An ongoing and iterative process of developing biologically based nomenclatures with which to delineate psychiatric disorders and translational research to predict and track response to different therapeutic drugs is laying the foundation for a shift in diagnostic practice in psychiatry from a psychologic symptom-based approach to an imaging-based approach over the next generation. This shift will require considerable innovations for the acquisition, analysis, and interpretation of brain images, all of which will undoubtedly require the active involvement of radiologists. © RSNA, 2016 Online supplemental material is available for this article.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1:
Figure 1:
Neural networks involved in patients with MDD mainly include the medial frontal cortex, temporal cortex, and superior occipital cortex. Both anatomic and functional changes are shown in the, A, superior view and, B, anterior view. Red and yellow spots represent changes in gray matter volume and function, respectively, and green spots identify regions with both functional and anatomic changes. C, Main white matter bundles (green line), with changes of integrities revealed by DT imaging. ACG.L = left anterior cingulate gyrus; ACG.R = right anterior cingulate gyrus; HIP.R = right hippocampus; IFGoperc.L = left inferior frontal gyrus, pars opercularis; IFGoperc.R = right inferior frontal gyrus, opercular part; IFGtriang.L = left inferior frontal gyrus, pars triangularis; IFGtriang.R = right inferior frontal gyrus, triangular part; MFG.L = left middle frontal gyrus; MFG.R = right middle temporal gyrus; ORBinf.L = orbital part of left Inferior frontal gyrus; ORBinf.R = orbital part of right inferior frontal gyrus; ORBmid.L = orbital part of left middle frontal gyrus; ORBsup.R = orbital part of right superior frontal gyrus; PCG.L = left posterior cingulate gyrus; PCG.R = right posterior cingulate gyrus; PUT.L = left lenticular nucleus, putamen; PUT.R = right lenticular nucleus, putamen; SFGdor.R = right superior frontal gyrus, dorsolateral; THA.L = left thalamus; THA.R = right thalamus.
Figure 2:
Figure 2:
Neural networks involved in schizophrenia mainly include the prefrontal cortex, temporal cortex, and thalamus. Both anatomic and functional changes are shown in the, A, superior view and, B, anterior view. Red and yellow spots represent changes in gray matter volume and function respectively; green spots indicate regions with both functional and anatomic changes. C, Main white matter bundles (green line), with changes of integrities revealed by DT imaging. ACG.R = right anterior cingulate gyrus; FFG.L = left fusiform gyrus; HIP.L = left hippocampus; HIP.R = right hippocampus; IFGoperc.L = left inferior frontal gyrus, pars opercularis; IFGtriang.L = left inferior frontal gyrus, pars triangularis; ITG.L = left inferior temporal gyrus; MFG.L = left middle frontal gyrus; MTG.L = left middle temporal gyrus; ORBinf.L = orbital part of left inferior frontal gyrus; ORBmid.L = orbital part of left middle frontal gyrus; ORBsup.L = orbital part of left superior frontal gyrus; PCG.L = left posterior cingulate gyrus; PCUN.L = left precuneus; PCUN.R = right precuneus; PoCG.R = right postcentral gyrus; SFGdor.L = left superior frontal gyrus, dorsolateral; STG.L = left superior temporal gyrus; THA.L = left thalamus; TPOmid.L = left temporal pole, middle temporal gyrus; TPOsup.L = left temporal pole, superior temporal gyrus.
Figure 3:
Figure 3:
Neural networks involved in BD mainly include the inferior frontal cortex and limbic areas. Both anatomic and functional changes are shown in the, A, superior view and, B, anterior view. Red spots and yellow spots represent changes in gray matter volume and function, respectively; green spots indicate regions with both functional and anatomic changes. C, Main white matter bundles (green line), with changes of integrities revealed by DT imaging. ACG.L = left anterior cingulate gyrus; AMYG.R = right amygdala; IFGoperc.L = left inferior frontal gyrus, pars opercularis; IFGoperc.R = right inferior frontal gyrus, pars opercularis; IFGtriang.L = left inferior frontal gyrus, pars triangularis; IFGtriang.R = right inferior frontal gyrus, pars triangularis; INS.L = left insula; INS.R = right insula; L.SLF = left superior longitudinal fasciculus; MFG.L = left middle frontal gyrus; MFG.R = right middle frontal gyrus; ORBinf.L = orbital part of left inferior frontal gyrus; ORBinf.R = orbital part of right inferior frontal gyrus; ORBmid.L = orbital part of left middle frontal gyrus; PAL.L = left lenticular nucleus, pallidum; PreCG.R = right precentral gyrus; PUT.L = left lenticular nucleus, putamen.
Figure 4:
Figure 4:
Neural networks involved in ADHD mainly include the superior frontal cortex, inferior frontal cortex, and basal ganglia. Both anatomic and functional changes are shown in the, A, superior view and, B, anterior view. Red and yellow spots represent changes in gray matter volume and function, respectively; green spots indicate regions with both functional and anatomic changes. C, Main white matter bundles (green line), with changes of integrities revealed by DT imaging. ACG.R = right anterior cingulate gyrus; CAU.R = right caudate nucleus; IFGoperc.L = left inferior frontal gyrus, opercular part; IFG triang.L = left inferior frontal gyrus, triangular part; ORB inf.L = orbital part of left inferior frontal gyrus; ORBmid.R = orbital part of right middle frontal gyrus; ORB.sup.R = orbital part of right superior frontal gyrus; PAL.R = right lenticular nucleus, pallidum; PCG.L = left posterior cingulate gyrus; PCUN.L = left precuneus; PUT.L = left lenticular nucleus, putamen; PUT.R = right lenticular nucleus, putamen; SFGdor.L = left superior frontal gyrus; SMG.L = left supramarginal gyrus; THA.R = right thalamus.
Figure 5:
Figure 5:
Neural networks involved in PTSD include the dorsolateral frontal cortex and inferior frontal cortex. Both anatomic and functional changes are shown in the, A, superior view and, B, anterior view. Red and yellow spots represent changes in gray matter volume and function, respectively; green spots indicate regions with both functional and anatomic changes. C, Main white matter bundles (green line), with changes of integrities revealed by DT imaging. ACG.L = left anterior cingulate gyrus; ACG.R = right anterior cingulate gyrus; HIP.L = left hippocampus; INS.L = left insula; LING.R = right lingual gyrus; L.SLF = left superior longitudinal fasciculus; MFG.L = left middle frontal gyrus; MFG.R = right middle frontal gyrus; ORBmid.L = orbital part of left middle frontal gyrus; ORBmid.R = orbital part of right middle frontal gyrus; ORB sup.R = orbital part of right superior frontal gyrus; PAL.L = left lenticular nucleus, pallidum; PUT.L = left lenticular nucleus, putamen; SFGdor.R = right superior frontal gyrus, dorsolateral; STG.L = left superior temporal gyrus; STG.R = right superior temporal gyrus; THA.L = left thalamus; THA.R = right thalamus.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Johnstone EC, Crow TJ, Frith CD, Husband J, Kreel L. Cerebral ventricular size and cognitive impairment in chronic schizophrenia. Lancet 1976;2(7992):924–926. - PubMed
    1. Good CD, Johnsrude IS, Ashburner J, Henson RN, Friston KJ, Frackowiak RS. A voxel-based morphometric study of ageing in 465 normal adult human brains. Neuroimage 2001;14(1 Pt 1):21–36. - PubMed
    1. Pavuluri MN, Yang S, Kamineni K, et al. . Diffusion tensor imaging study of white matter fiber tracts in pediatric bipolar disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Biol Psychiatry 2009;65(7):586–593. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Moncrieff J, Leo J. A systematic review of the effects of antipsychotic drugs on brain volume. Psychol Med 2010;40(9):1409–1422. - PubMed
    1. Rive MM, van Rooijen G, Veltman DJ, Phillips ML, Schene AH, Ruhé HG. Neural correlates of dysfunctional emotion regulation in major depressive disorder. a systematic review of neuroimaging studies. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2013;37(10 Pt 2):2529–2553. - PubMed