Biomedical subjects

Deborah J Walder

Publications and source records attributed to Deborah J Walder.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

The relations among putative biorisk markers in schizotypal adolescents: minor physical anomalies, movement abnormalities, and salivary cortisol.

BACKGROUND: Evidence suggests that prenatal insult may play a role in the etiology of psychotic disorders. Minor physical anomalies (MPA) are an indicator of abnormal fetal development and are elevated in individuals at genetic and behavioral risk for psychosis. Yet, there has been little empirical research on the relationships between MPAs and other neurobiological risk indicators. We hypothesized that the frequency of MPAs (an external marker of prenatal central nervous system [CNS] disruption) would be associated with two other biomarkers suggestive of disruptions in fetal neurodevelopment: movement abnormalities (an indicator of striatal abnormalities) and heightened cortisol secretion (an indicator of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal [HPA]/hippocampal function). METHODS: Participants with schizotypal personality disorder (SPD; n = 39) and both normal (n = 47) and other personality disorders (n = 28) control subjects were administered structured diagnostic interviews and assessed for MPAs, movement abnormalities, and salivary cortisol. RESULTS: Schizotypal personality disorder participants showed significantly greater MPAs and movement abnormalities and higher cortisol than both the normal and other personality disorders groups. Hierarchical linear regression analyses revealed that higher rates of MPAs were linked with greater movement abnormalities and salivary cortisol. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that MPAs serve as a marker of neurodevelopmental abnormalities that affect striatal and hippocampal regions.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

Neuroanatomic substrates of sex differences in language dysfunction in schizophrenia: a pilot study.

OBJECTIVE: This pilot study investigated whether our previous findings of disrupted normal sexual brain dimorphisms in language-associated regions in schizophrenia were linked with our previously reported sex differences in language dysfunction in schizophrenia. METHOD: Nineteen adults with schizophrenia and 15 normal comparisons were tested on phonology, semantics and grammar and underwent structural MRI. RESULTS: Among males, left hippocampal and left planum temporale (PT) abnormalities were associated with phonological, semantic and grammar deficits, accounting for 17-52% and 27-33%, respectively, of variance in diagnostic group differences. Anterior cingulate gyrus was significantly associated with semantics. Among females, right Heschl's Gyrus (HG) and left PT were significantly associated with phonology, right HG with semantics and grammar and right hippocampus with semantics. CONCLUSIONS: These preliminary findings suggest disrupted sexual brain dimorphisms in schizophrenia are associated with sex-specific language deficits, and left hippocampal abnormalities, in particular, contribute to language dysfunction among men. Abnormalities in right cortical temporal regions showed stronger associations with language dysfunction among females.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

Sex differences in digit ratio (2D:4D) are disrupted in adolescents with schizotypal personality disorder: altered prenatal gonadal hormone levels as a risk factor.

The 2nd to 4th finger digit ratio (2D:4D) is a sexually dimorphic feature determined during gestation indexing prenatal androgen/estrogen levels. More 'feminized' 2D:4D phenotype has been demonstrated in schizophrenia versus same-sex controls. This study examined 2D:4D in adolescents with schizotypal personality disorder (SPD). Among normal controls, right 2D:4D was significantly greater (more feminized) in females than males. We replicated laterality effects; significant sex differences only on right. There were no significant sex differences among SPDs. Diagnostic group differences were restricted to White/Caucasian males with greater right 2D:4D in SPDs. Findings suggest disruptions in prenatal gonadal hormones in vulnerability for schizophrenia.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

Sex differences in language dysfunction in schizophrenia.

OBJECTIVE: Normal sex differences in language functions are disrupted in schizophrenia. However, identification of specific language components most vulnerable in schizophrenia and how they may differ by sex remain unexamined. The current study investigated this issue in the domains of phonology, semantics, and grammar, which have been closely linked with neuroanatomic regions for which sex differences have been identified. METHOD: Thirty-one outpatients with DSM-III-R schizophrenia and 27 healthy subjects comparable within sex on age, handedness, parental socioeconomic status, and ethnicity were systematically ascertained from a Boston catchment area. The subjects were administered an extensive language battery in the context of a comprehensive neuropsychological battery that included measures of phonology, semantics, and grammar. RESULTS: Male patients performed significantly worse than their healthy counterparts on all three domains, with phonology least affected. In contrast, language function was relatively preserved in the female patients, compared to their healthy counterparts, with phonology most affected. Across domains, the effect sizes in comparisons of male patients and healthy male subjects had a twofold difference, whereas the difference in effect sizes in comparisons of female patients and healthy female subjects was less in all areas. CONCLUSIONS: Findings were consistent with prior evidence of overall language dysfunction in schizophrenia and may have implications for understanding sex differences in neuroanatomic abnormalities in regions associated with phonological processing.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Plasma hormones and catecholamine metabolites in monozygotic twins discordant for psychosis.

OBJECTIVE: To examine plasma cortisol, adrencorticotropin hormone, and indicators of catecholamine activity in monozygotic twins discordant for schizophrenia or major affective disorders. BACKGROUND: Previous research has suggested that catecholamines play a role in the etiology of major mental illness. Several findings have also shown an inverse relation between hippocampal volume and cortisol levels in psychiatric populations including patients who are depressed and patients with Cushing disease. METHOD: In this study, plasma obtained from monozygotic twin pairs discordant for schizophrenia (n = 10) or major affective disorder (n = 3) was assayed for epinephrine, norepinephrine, dihydroxyphenylacetic acid, homovanillic acid, adrencorticotropin hormone, and cortisol. RESULTS: There was significant concordance for levels of dihydroxyphenylacetic acid and homovanillic acid, consistent with the high concordance for indicators of dopamine activity observed in healthy monozygotic pairs. There was also concordance for adrencorticotropin hormone. However, in contrast to findings on healthy monozygotic pairs, there was no relation for epinephrine, norepinephrine, or cortisol. Among patients, there was an inverse correlation between cortisol and the magnitude of the reduction in hippocampal volume, relative to that of the healthy co-twin. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest the potential role of adrenal steroids and hippocampal function in the expression of psychosis.

3,4-Dihydroxyphenylacetic Acid↗