What we do
About our project
First degree relatives
Because schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are highly heritable and share genetic risk factors (Cardno et al 1999; McGuffin et al 2003; Lee et al. 2013), a logical next step is to determine the extent to which these phenotypes are influenced by genetic and environmental factors. This question can be addressed by studying brain structures in relatives of patients with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, in addition to the probands and healthy control subjects. The presence of brain abnormalities in patients’ relatives and more importantly the scaling of shared phenotypic variance with genetic relatedness (MZ>DZ=SIB>half-SIB) suggest the presence of genetic risk factors.
An additional advantage of studying relatives is that brain volume differences in relatives cannot be the result of antipsychotic medication. Therefore, examining brain volumes in non-psychotic, first-degree relatives of schizophrenia or bipolar patients can clarify some of the causes of the brain abnormalities observed in probands.
We aim to collect MRI data sets consisting of probands (DSM diagnosis of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder), their first-degree family members (i.e., twins, siblings, offspring, parents) across the full age range. We are interested in examining mean differences in various brain metrics between groups, the effect of familiarity and heritabilties.
Our research focus
In our first project we focused on brain structure, i.e. global measures of the brain, local cortical thickness and cortical surface, and subcortical volumes. We also studied the role of psychopathology and IQ.
In a second project, we focus on white matter integrity (diffusion tensor imaging, DTI) and resting state functional MRI (rsfMRI).
Funds & Grants
NIH: 5R01MH129742-03 (to NEM van Haren)
Collaborations
Internal and external collaborations
- University of South California.
- Institutes who collected MRI brain scans from first degree relatives of patients with bipolar disorder or schizophrenia.
Publications
The Association Between Familial Risk and Brain Abnormalities Is Disease Specific: An ENIGMA-Relatives Study of Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder. De Zwarte SMC, Brouwer RM, …. Andreassen OA, Ching CRK, van Erp TGM, Turner JA, Jahanshad N, Thompson PM, Kahn RS, van Haren NEM.Biol Psychiatry. 2019 Oct 1;86(7):545-556. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2019.03.985.
Intelligence, educational attainment, and brain structure in those at familial high-risk for schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. De Zwarte SMC, Brouwer RM, … Ching CRK, Thomopoulos SI, van Erp TGM, Jahanshad N, Thompson, RS Kahn, NEM van Haren.. Hum Brain Mapp. 2022 Jan;43(1):414-430. doi: 10.1002/hbm.25206.
