ronto–Temporal Disconnectivity in Schizotypal ersonality Disorder: A Diffusion Tensor Imaging tudy

ackground: Using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), we previously reported abnormalities in two critical white matter tracts in chizophrenia, the uncinate fasciculus (UF) and the cingulum bundle (CB), both related to fronto–temporal connectivity. Here, we nvestigate these two bundles in unmedicated subjects with schizotypal personality disorder (SPD). ethods: Fifteen male SPD subjects and 15 male control subjects were scanned with line-scan DTI. Fractional anisotropy (FA) and ean diffusivity (Dm) were used to quantify water diffusion, and cross-sectional area was defined with a directional threshold method. xploratory correlation analyses were evaluated with Spearman’s rho, followed by post hoc hierarchical regression analyses. esults: We found bilaterally reduced FA in the UF of SPD subjects. For CB, there was no significant group difference for FA or Dm easures. Additionally, in SPD, reduced FA in the right UF was correlated with clinical symptoms, including ideas of reference, uspiciousness, restricted affect, and social anxiety. In contrast, left UF area was correlated with measures of cognitive function, ncluding general intelligence, verbal and visual memory, and executive performance. onclusions: These findings in SPD suggest altered fronto–temporal connectivity through the UF, similar to findings in schizophrenia, nd intact neocortical–limbic connectivity through the CB, in marked contrast with what has been reported in schizophrenia.