Eliez S, Schmitt J E, White C D, Wellis V G, Reiss A L
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California 94305-5719, USA.
Biol Psychiatry. 2001 Mar 15;49(6):540-6. doi: 10.1016/s0006-3223(00)01005-2.
Velocardiofacial syndrome (VCFS) has been identified as a risk factor for developing schizophrenia. Qualitative neuroimaging studies indicated that VCFS was frequently associated with abnormal development of structures in the posterior fossa of the brain. The objective of this investigation was to identify the specific structures affected in the posterior fossa and investigate the association of these neuroanatomic variations with behaviors potentially related to later-onset psychiatric disorders.
Twenty-four children and adolescents with VCFS individually matched for age and gender with 24 control subjects received magnetic resonance imaging scans. Analysis of covariance models were used to investigate regional brain differences. Association between brain areas and behaviors measured on the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) were assessed using simple regression models.
Children with VCFS had significantly smaller size of vermal lobules VI--VII and the pons after adjusting for overall brain size. There were no significant associations between scores on the CBCL and measures of neuroanatomic variation within the VCFS group.
Structural alterations of the posterior fossa in VCFS are specifically limited to cerebellar vermis lobules VI--VII and pons. Previous literature has suggested that the vermis is involved in social cognition, and alteration of lobules VI--VII could therefore partially explain the neurobehavioral profile associated with VCFS.
腭心面综合征（VCFS）已被确定为患精神分裂症的一个风险因素。定性神经影像学研究表明，VCFS常与脑后颅窝结构的异常发育有关。本研究的目的是确定后颅窝中受影响的具体结构，并研究这些神经解剖学变异与可能与迟发性精神障碍相关行为之间的关联。
24名患有VCFS的儿童和青少年，年龄和性别与24名对照受试者个体匹配，接受了磁共振成像扫描。采用协方差分析模型研究脑区差异。使用简单回归模型评估脑区与儿童行为量表（CBCL）所测量行为之间的关联。
在调整了全脑大小后，患有VCFS的儿童蚓部小叶VI - VII和脑桥的尺寸明显更小。在VCFS组中，CBCL评分与神经解剖学变异测量值之间无显著关联。
VCFS患者后颅窝的结构改变具体局限于小脑蚓部小叶VI - VII和脑桥。先前的文献表明，蚓部参与社会认知，因此小叶VI - VII的改变可能部分解释了与VCFS相关的神经行为特征。
