Asymmetry of the uncinate fasciculus: a post-mortem study of normal subjects and patients with schizophrenia.
Abstract
The uncinate fasciculus interconnects the anterior temporal and inferior frontal lobes. The temporal lobes show a number of anatomical asymmetries, some of which are altered in schizophrenia. This study was performed to assess the size and symmetry of the uncinate fasciculus in normal subjects and in patients with the disorder. The area, fibre density and total fibre number of left and right uncinate fasciculi were estimated using stereological methods in 21 control subjects and 17 schizophrenics. The uncinate fasciculus was found to be asymmetrical in both sexes, being 27% larger and containing 33% more fibres in the right than the left hemisphere. Of the 25 brains from which both hemispheres were available, the size asymmetry was seen in 20 subjects and the greater number of fibres in 21 subjects. There was no significant effect of schizophrenia upon the uncinate fasiculus, nor interactions of diagnosis with side or sex. We conclude that the uncinate fasciculus is larger in the right hemisphere, perhaps indicating greater right-sided fronto-temporal connectivity. The unchanged size of the fasciculus in schizophrenia contrasts with commissural tracts, which are affected in this brain series in a sex-specific manner.
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Hemispheric asymmetry in the UF has been observed for both volume and diffusion metrics, but there are inconsistencies in the directionality of such asymmetry.
“Hemispheric asymmetry in the UF has been observed for both volume and diffusion metrics but there are inconsistencies in the directionality of such asymmetry of the UF.”
From Cortical Terminations of the Inferior Fronto-Occipital and Uncinate Fasciculi: Anatomical Stem-Based Virtual Dissection (2016) · cites this paper as Highley et al., 2002
Cites
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What is the role of the uncinate fasciculus? Surgical removal and proper name retrieval
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“Previous diffusion studies reported a rightward lateralized UF (Highley et al., 2002; Park et al., 2004; Thomas et al., 2015), however, asymmetry in the opposite direction has also been shown (Kubicki et al., 2002; Hasan et al., 2009) and some did not find any asymmetry in the UF (Thiebaut de…”
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Fiber tractography reveals disruption of temporal lobe white matter tracts in schizophrenia
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- Authors
- Highley, J. R.
- Affiliations
- University of Oxford (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Highley, J. R.
- ORCID
- Highley, J. R.
- Venue
- Cerebral Cortex
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2002-11-01
- Volume
- 12
- Issue
- 11
- Pages
- 1218-1224
- ISSN
- 1047-3211 (ISSN-L)
- 1460-2199
- OpenAlex
- W2106003398
- Cited by
- 207
- References
- 2
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 13 · 2015: 8 · 2014: 8 · 2013: 10 · 2012: 11
- FWCI
- 2.84
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Cerebral Cortex (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Wellcome Trust
- Queen's University
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Hemispheric Asymmetry in Neuroscience
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging › Advanced Neuroimaging Techniques and Applications
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Schizophrenia research and treatment
- Keywords
- uncinate fasciculus, hemispheric lateralization, schizophrenia, stereology, fronto-temporal connectivity, sex differences, commissural tracts, anterior temporal lobe, inferior frontal lobe
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Analysis of Variance, Female, Frontal Lobe, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Schizophrenia, Temporal Lobe
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