Factor Analysis Of Automatic White Matter Clustering And Neuropsychology Measures In Patients With Schizophrenia.

BACKGROUNDThere is consistent evidence that people with schizophrenia exhibit subnormal levels of Fractional Anisotropy (FA) in many regions of the brain, which may suggest demyelination or damage to the axon structure of white matter fibers (Kubicki et al., 2007). As shown in neurodegenerative diseases known to affect white matter integrity, reduced FA is correlated with neuropsychological functioning (Fink et al., 2010). It has also been demonstrated that proper cognitive functioning depends on efficient coordination of distinct brain regions, forming functional networks. Since these networks are interconnected by white matter tracts, we were interested in whether it is possible to delineate those networks by means of DTI, factor analysis, and cognitive domains.The present study compared chronic schizophrenia patients and matched healthy controls on a recently developed automatic white matter clustering method to see: 1) if patients with schizophrenia have reductions in FA in anatomical bundles, 2) if factor analysis can group anatomical bundles into meaningful functional white matter networks, and 3) how functional white matter networks are associated with cognitive functioning in patients and controls.