van Rijn Sophie, Aleman André, Swaab Hanna, Kahn René S
Department of Psychiatry, Rudolf Magnus Institute for Neuroscience, University Medical Center Utrecht, Heidelberglaan 100, 3508 GA Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2005 May;29(3):385-97. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2004.11.005. Epub 2004 Dec 22.
Abnormalities in emotion processing and in structure of the amygdala have consistently been documented in schizophrenia. A major question is whether amygdala abnormalities reflect a genetic vulnerability for the disease. In the present paper, we reviewed Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) studies that reported amygdala measures in several high-risk populations: subjects from the general population with subclinical schizophrenia symptoms and relatives of schizophrenia patients. In addition, we reviewed the evidence regarding Klinefelter syndrome (characterised by an additional X-chromosome), which has also been related to an increased risk for schizophrenia. Overall, the evidence points to structural abnormalities of the amygdala in individuals at increased risk for schizophrenia. Although the genetic basis of amygdala deficits remains unclear, abnormalities (of genes) on the X-chromosome might play a role as suggested by the evidence from individuals with sex chromosome aneuploidies. We propose that amygdala abnormalities are an endophenotype in schizophrenia and may account for subtle emotional processing deficits that have been described in these high-risk groups.
精神分裂症患者的情绪加工和杏仁核结构异常一直都有文献记载。一个主要问题是杏仁核异常是否反映了该疾病的遗传易感性。在本文中，我们回顾了磁共振成像（MRI）研究，这些研究报告了几个高危人群的杏仁核测量数据：有亚临床精神分裂症症状的普通人群以及精神分裂症患者的亲属。此外，我们还回顾了有关克兰费尔特综合征（以额外的X染色体为特征）的证据，该综合征也与精神分裂症风险增加有关。总体而言，证据表明精神分裂症风险增加的个体存在杏仁核结构异常。尽管杏仁核缺陷的遗传基础尚不清楚，但性染色体非整倍体个体的证据表明，X染色体上的（基因）异常可能起了作用。我们认为杏仁核异常是精神分裂症的一种内表型，可能解释了这些高危人群中所描述的细微情绪加工缺陷。
