Cortical Thickness And Folding Of Adolescent-onset Conduct Disorder

Object:To investigate the differences in cortical thickness and folding between adolescent-onset conduct disorder patients and healthy adolescents.Methods:In present study we obtained T1-weighted brain structure images from30controls and28adolescent-onset conduct disorder participants aged14to16years, matched by gender and IQ. Group differences in cortical thickness and local gyrification index (1GI, regional cortical folding measurement) were measured by surface-based morphometry with clusterwise correction.Results:In left hemisphere, decreased cortical thickness was observed in three clusters, the first cluster (pcluster<0.01,corrected) including paracentral area, precuneus and posterior cingulate cortex, the second is lateral orbitofrontal cortex (pcluster＜0.01, corrected) and the third is lateral occipital cortex (pcluster<0.01,corrected). Cortical thinning was also found in two clusters of right hemisphere, one (pcluster <0.01,corrected) consists superior temporal, supramarginal cortex and a small part of insula, the other (Pcluster<0.01,corrected) includes fusiform, lingual and parahippocampal gyrus. No cluster in conductor disorder participants were found to have greater cortical thickness than healthy controls. Moreover, compared with healthy controls gyrification index showed decreasing in right rostral anterior cingulate cortex but increasing in precentral area of conduct disorder participants (pcluster<0.05, corrected).Conclusion:The cortical thickness of left paracentral area, precuneus,posterior cingulate cortex, lateral orbitofrontal and lateral occipital cortex was decreased in adolescent-onset conduct disorder patients. Cortical thinning was also found in right superior temporal, supramarginal cortex and insula,fusiform, lingual and parahippocampal gyrus area of adolescent-onset conduct disorder patients. Moreover, gyrification index was found decreased in right rostral rostral anterior cingulate cortex but increased in precentral area among conduct disorder participants compared with healthy controls.