Intelligence, educational attainment, and brain structure in those at familial high-risk for schizophrenia or bipolar disorder

de Zwarte, Sonja; Brouwer, Rachel; Agartz, Ingrid; Alda, Martin; Alonso-Lana, Silvia; Bearden, Carrie; Bertolino, Alessandro; Bonvino, Aurora; Bramon, Elvira; Buimer, Elizabeth; Cahn, Wiepke; Canales-Rodriguez, Erick; Cannon, Dara; Cannon, Tyrone; Caseras, Xavier; Castro-Fornieles, Josefina; Chen, Qiang; Chung, Yoonho; de la Serna, Elena; del Mar Bonnin, Caterina; Demro, Caroline; Di Giorgio, Annabella; Doucet, Gaelle; EKER, MEHMET; Erk, Susanne; Fatjo-Vilas, Mar; Fears, Scott; Foley, Sonya; Frangou, Sophia; Fullerton, Janice; Glahn, David; Goghari, Vina; Goikolea, Jose; Goldman, Aaron; GÖNÜL, ALİ; Gruber, Oliver; Hajek, Tomas; Hawkins, Emma; Heinz, Andreas; HIDIROĞLU ONGUN, CEREN; Hillegers, Manon; Houenou, Josselin; Hulshoff Pol, Hilleke; Hultman, Christina; Ingvar, Martin; Johansson, Viktoria; Jonsson, Erik; Kane, Fergus; Kempton, Matthew; Koenis, Marinka; Kopecek, Miloslav; Kraemer, Bernd; Lawrie, Stephen; Lenroot, Rhoshel; Marcelis, Machteld; Mattay, Venkata; McDonald, Colm; Meyer-Lindenberg, Andreas; Michielse, Stijn; Mitchell, Philip; Moreno, Dolores; Murray, Robin; Mwangi, Benson; Nabulsi, Leila; Newport, Jason; Olman, Cheryl; van Os, Jim; Overs, Bronwyn; Ozerdem, Aysegul; Pergola, Giulio; Picchioni, Marco; Piguet, Camille; Pomarol-Clotet, Edith; Radua, Joaquim; Ramsay, Ian; Richter, Anja; Roberts, Gloria; Salvador, Raymond; Saricicek Aydogan, Aybala; Sarro, Salvador; Schofield, Peter; Simsek, Esma; Simsek, Fatma; Soares, Jair; Sponheim, Scott; Sugranyes, Gisela; Toulopoulou, Timothea; Tronchin, Giulia; Vieta, Eduard; Walter, Henrik; Weinberger, Daniel; Whalley, Heather; Wu, Mon-Ju; Yalin, Nefize; Andreassen, Ole; Ching, Christopher; Thomopoulos, Sophia; van Erp, Theo; Jahanshad, Neda; Thompson, Paul; Kahn, Rene; van Haren, Neeltje

doi:10.1002/hbm.25206

Intelligence, educational attainment, and brain structure in those at familial high-risk for schizophrenia or bipolar disorder

de Zwarte S. M. C., Brouwer R. M., Agartz I., Alda M., Alonso-Lana S., Bearden C. E., ...More

HUMAN BRAIN MAPPING, vol.43, no.1, pp.414-430, 2022 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)

Publication Type: Article / Article
Volume: 43 Issue: 1
Publication Date: 2022
Doi Number: 10.1002/hbm.25206
Journal Name: HUMAN BRAIN MAPPING
Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, PASCAL, Agricultural & Environmental Science Database, BIOSIS, EMBASE, MEDLINE, Psycinfo
Page Numbers: pp.414-430
Keywords: bipolar disorder, education, intelligence, neuroimaging, relatives, schizophrenia, GENOME-WIDE ASSOCIATION, SCHOOL PERFORMANCE, PREMORBID IQ, YOUNG-ADULTS, METAANALYSIS, INDIVIDUALS, RELATIVES, HERITABILITY, DISCORDANT, THICKNESS
Open Archive Collection: AVESIS Open Access Collection
Dokuz Eylül University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

First-degree relatives of patients diagnosed with schizophrenia (SZ-FDRs) show similar patterns of brain abnormalities and cognitive alterations to patients, albeit with smaller effect sizes. First-degree relatives of patients diagnosed with bipolar disorder (BD-FDRs) show divergent patterns; on average, intracranial volume is larger compared to controls, and findings on cognitive alterations in BD-FDRs are inconsistent. Here, we performed a meta-analysis of global and regional brain measures (cortical and subcortical), current IQ, and educational attainment in 5,795 individuals (1,103 SZ-FDRs, 867 BD-FDRs, 2,190 controls, 942 schizophrenia patients, 693 bipolar patients) from 36 schizophrenia and/or bipolar disorder family cohorts, with standardized methods. Compared to controls, SZ-FDRs showed a pattern of widespread thinner cortex, while BD-FDRs had widespread larger cortical surface area. IQ was lower in SZ-FDRs (d= -0.42,p= 3 x 10(-5)), with weak evidence of IQ reductions among BD-FDRs (d= -0.23,p= .045). Both relative groups had similar educational attainment compared to controls. When adjusting for IQ or educational attainment, the group-effects on brain measures changed, albeit modestly. Changes were in the expected direction, with less pronounced brain abnormalities in SZ-FDRs and more pronounced effects in BD-FDRs. To conclude, SZ-FDRs and BD-FDRs show a differential pattern of structural brain abnormalities. In contrast, both had lower IQ scores and similar school achievements compared to controls. Given that brain differences between SZ-FDRs and BD-FDRs remain after adjusting for IQ or educational attainment, we suggest that differential brain developmental processes underlying predisposition for schizophrenia or bipolar disorder are likely independent of general cognitive impairment.