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Dive into the research topics where Britta Reinke is active.

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Featured researches published by Britta Reinke.


Cerebral Cortex | 2013

Association between Psychotic Symptoms and Cortical Thickness Reduction across the Schizophrenia Spectrum

Viola Oertel-Knöchel; Christian Knöchel; Anna Rotarska-Jagiela; Britta Reinke; David Prvulovic; Corinna Haenschel; Harald Hampel; David Edmund Johannes Linden

The current study provides a complete magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) analysis of thickness throughout the cerebral cortical mantle in patients with schizophrenia (SZ) and rigorously screened and matched unaffected relatives and controls and an assessment of its relation to psychopathology and subjective cognitive function. We analyzed 3D-anatomical MRI data sets, obtained at 3 T, from 3 different subject groups: 25 SZ patients, 29 first-degree relatives, and 37 healthy control subjects. We computed whole-brain cortical thickness using the Freesurfer software and assessed group differences. We also acquired clinical and psychometric data. The results showed markedly reduced cortical thickness in SZ patients compared with controls, most notably in the frontal and temporal lobes, in the superior parietal lobe and several limbic areas, with intermediate levels of cortical thickness in relatives. In both patients and relatives, we found an association between subjective cognitive dysfunction and reduced thickness of frontal cortex, and predisposition toward hallucinations and reduced thickness of the superior temporal gyrus. Our findings suggest that changes in specific cortical areas may predispose to specific symptoms, as exemplified by the association between temporal cortex thinning and hallucinations.


Journal of Affective Disorders | 2014

Frontal white matter alterations are associated with executive cognitive function in euthymic bipolar patients

Viola Oertel-Knöchel; Britta Reinke; Gilberto Sousa Alves; Alina Jurcoane; Sofia Wenzler; David Prvulovic; David Edmind Johannes Linden; Christian Knöchel

BACKGROUND Bipolar affective disorder (BD) is often associated with cognitive dysfunction in executive domains. However the biological underpinnings of cognitive deficits in BD are not sufficiently understood. A growing body of evidence indicates a loss of microstructural integrity in various white matter (WM) fiber tracts in BD. The aim of the current study was to assess potential links between WM structural abnormalities and cognitive performance in euthymic middle-aged BD patients (n=30) and matched healthy controls (n=32). METHODS Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data was carried out with both voxelwise (tract based spatial statistics, TBSS) and region-of-interest (ROI) based analysis. We compared multiple indices of diffusion including fractional anisotropy (FA), radial (DR), axial (DA) and mean diffusivities (MD). RESULTS Increased mean diffusivity was found in the fornix, anterior thalamic radiation, splenium and the truncus of the corpus callosum in BD patients compared with controls. These diffusion changes were significantly associated with poorer performance in executive tasks in BD patients. CONCLUSIONS Our results indicate a direct link between executive cognitive functioning and abnormal WM microstructural integrity of fronto-limbic tracts in remitted BD patients, and add evidence to the neuronal disruption that underlies the residual symptomatology of BD.


Schizophrenia Research | 2012

Association between white matter fiber integrity and subclinical psychotic symptoms in schizophrenia patients and unaffected relatives

Christian Knöchel; Laurence O'Dwyer; Gilberto Sousa Alves; Britta Reinke; Jörg Magerkurth; Anna Rotarska-Jagiela; David Prvulovic; Harald Hampel; David Edmund Johannes Linden; Viola Oertel-Knöchel

In this study, we investigate whether aberrant integrity of white matter (WM) fiber tracts represents a genetically determined biological marker of schizophrenia (SZ), and its relation with clinical symptoms. We collected brain DTI data from 28 SZ patients, 18 first-degree relatives and 22 matched controls and used voxel-based analysis with tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) in order to compare fractional anisotropy (FA) between groups. Mean voxel-based FA values from the entire skeleton of each group were compared. We did a multiple regression analysis, followed by single post-hoc contrasts between groups. FA values were extracted from the statistically significant areas. The results showed significantly smaller FA values for SZ patients in comparison with controls in cortico-spinal tracts, in commissural fibers, in thalamic projections, in association fibers and in cingulum bundles. A significant increase of FA in SZ patients in comparison with healthy controls was only found in the arcuate fasciculus. Relatives had intermediate values between patients and controls which were deemed significant in the comparison to patients and controls in association fibers, arcuate fasciculus and cingulum bundles. Lower FA values in association fibers were significantly associated with predisposition toward hallucinations (in SZ patients and relatives), with higher PANSS scores of positive symptoms and with duration of illness (SZ patients). Our results suggest that clinical and subclinical presentations of psychotic symptoms are associated with aberrant integrity of multiple WM tracts. This association may represent an endophenotype of schizophrenia, since it is present in unaffected relatives as well. Such endophenotypes may serve as quantitative traits for future genetic studies and as candidate markers for early and preclinical identification of subjects at risk.


NeuroImage | 2014

Differential effects of the ApoE4 genotype on brain structure and function.

Silke Matura; David Prvulovic; Alina Jurcoane; Daniel Hartmann; Monika Scheibe; Laurence O'Dwyer; Viola Oertel-Knöchel; Christian Knöchel; Britta Reinke; Tarik Karakaya; Fabian Fußer; Johannes Pantel

The apolipoprotein E ε4 allele is a well established genetic risk factor for sporadic Alzheimers disease. It is associated with structural and functional brain changes in healthy young, middle-aged and elderly subjects. In the current study, we assessed the impact of the ApoE genotype on brain macro- and microstructure, cognitive functioning and brain activity in fifty healthy young subjects (25 ApoE ε4 (ε4+) carriers and 25 non-carriers (ε4-), mean age 26.4±4.6years). We used diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and voxel based morphometry (VBM) to assess brain structure, an extensive neuropsychological battery to test cognitive functioning and event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to capture brain activity during episodic memory encoding and retrieval. ApoE ε4 carriers differed from non-carriers in fMRI activations but not in cognitive performance nor in brain micro- and macrostructure. These results suggest functional alterations in the episodic memory network that are modulated by the ε4 allele and might precede clinical or structural neurodegeneration.


NeuroImage: Clinical | 2014

Multimodal assessments of the hippocampal formation in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder: evidences from neurobehavioral measures and functional and structural MRI

Christian Knöchel; Michael Stäblein; Helena Storchak; Britta Reinke; Alina Jurcoane; David Prvulovic; David Edmund Johannes Linden; Vincent van de Ven; Denisa Ghinea; Sofia Wenzler; Gilberto Sousa Alves; Silke Matura; Anne Kröger; Viola Oertel-Knöchel

A potential clinical and etiological overlap between schizophrenia (SZ) and bipolar disorder (BD) has long been a subject of discussion. Imaging studies imply functional and structural alterations of the hippocampus in both diseases. Thus, imaging this core memory region could provide insight into the pathophysiology of these disorders and the associated cognitive deficits. To examine possible shared alterations in the hippocampus, we conducted a multi-modal assessment, including functional and structural imaging as well as neurobehavioral measures of memory performance in BD and SZ patients compared with healthy controls. We assessed episodic memory performance, using tests of verbal and visual learning (HVLT, BVMT) in three groups of participants: BD patients (n = 21), SZ patients (n = 21) and matched (age, gender, education) healthy control subjects (n = 21). In addition, we examined hippocampal resting state functional connectivity, hippocampal volume using voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and fibre integrity of hippocampal connections using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). We found memory deficits, changes in functional connectivity within the hippocampal network as well as volumetric reductions and altered white matter fibre integrity across patient groups in comparison with controls. However, SZ patients when directly compared with BD patients were more severely affected in several of the assessed parameters (verbal learning, left hippocampal volumes, mean diffusivity of bilateral cingulum and right uncinated fasciculus). The results of our study suggest a graded expression of verbal learning deficits accompanied by structural alterations within the hippocampus in BD patients and SZ patients, with SZ patients being more strongly affected. Our findings imply that these two disorders may share some common pathophysiological mechanisms. The results could thus help to further advance and integrate current pathophysiological models of SZ and BD.


Journal of Affective Disorders | 2015

Association between age of disease-onset, cognitive performance and cortical thickness in bipolar disorders

Viola Oertel-Knöchel; Johanna Reuter; Britta Reinke; Katharina Marbach; Richard Feddern; Gilberto Sousa Alves; David Prvulovic; David Edmund Johannes Linden; Christian Knöchel

OBJECTIVES Neuroimaging studies in patients with bipolar disorder (BD) have indicated a number of structural brain changes, including reduced cortical thickness. However, the effects of the course of illness, clinical and cognitive variables on cortical thickness in BD patients have not yet been evaluated. METHODS A total of 67 individuals (32 patients with euthymic BD and 35 healthy and age-matched controls) underwent 3D-anatomical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Whole-brain cortical thickness and group differences were assessed using the Freesurfer software. Course of disease variables, clinical and cognitive parameters were correlated with cortical thickness measures. RESULTS We found reduced cortical thickness in BD patients compared with controls in the frontal and temporal lobes and in several limbic areas. We also report significant associations between cortical thickness and age of disease-onset, speed of cognitive processing, executive function and depression severity in BD patients. CONCLUSIONS Cortical thickness reduction across frontal and limbic areas is a structural correlate of affective symptom severity and cognitive impairments in BD as well of age of disease-onset. We may assume that frontal lobe structural abnormalities are present in bipolar disorder, and might lead to dysfunctional cognitive functioning. The causality and functional relevance beyond mere correlation, however, is yet to be established. Our findings encourage further longitudinal studies in BD patients and in healthy at-risk subjects in order to discern the temporal order and development of morphological changes and clinical symptoms.


Schizophrenia Research | 2016

Cortical thinning in bipolar disorder and schizophrenia

Christian Knöchel; Johanna Reuter; Britta Reinke; Michael Stäblein; Katharina Marbach; Richard Feddern; Kristina Kuhlmann; Gilberto Sousa Alves; David Prvulovic; Sofia Wenzler; David Edmund Johannes Linden; Viola Oertel-Knöchel

Although schizophrenia (SZ) and bipolar disorder (BD) share some clinical features such as psychotic symptoms and cognitive dysfunctions, little is known about possible pathophysiological similarities between both diseases. Therefore, we investigated the potential topographical overlap and segregation of cortical thickness abnormalities in SZ and BD patients. We analyzed 3D-anatomical magnetic resonance imaging datasets with the FreeSurfer 5.1.0 software to examine cortical thickness and volumes in three groups of participants: n=34 BD patients, n=32 SZ patients and n=38 healthy controls. We observed similar bilateral cortical thickness reductions in BD and SZ patients predominantly in the pars opercularis of the inferior frontal gyrus and in the anterior and posterior cingulate. We also found disease-specific cortical reductions in the orbitofrontal cortex for BD patients and in dorsal frontal and temporal areas for SZ. Furthermore, inferior frontal gyrus cortical thinning was associated with deficits in psychomotor speed and executive functioning in SZ patients and with age at onset in both groups. Our findings support the hypothesis that thinning of the frontal cortex may represent a biological feature shared by both disease groups. The associations between cognitive deficits and the reported findings in SZ and to a lesser degree in BD patients add to the functional relevance of our results. However, further studies are needed to corroborate a model of shared pathophysiological disease features across BD and SZ.


Journal of Affective Disorders | 2013

Verbal episodic memory deficits in remitted bipolar patients: A combined behavioural and fMRI study

Viola Oertel-Knöchel; Britta Reinke; Richard Feddern; Annika Knake; Christian Knöchel; David Prvulovic; Fabian Fußer; Tarik Karakaya; Deborah Loellgen; Christine M. Freitag; Johannes Pantel; David Edmund Johannes Linden

BACKGROUND Episodic memory deficits affect the majority of patients with bipolar disorder (BD). AIMS The study investigates episodic memory performance through different approaches, including behavioural measures, physiological parameters, and the underlying functional activation patterns with functional neuroimaging (fMRI). METHODS 26 Remitted BD patients and a matched group of healthy controls underwent a verbal episodic memory test together with monitored autonomic response, psychopathological ratings and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during the verbal episodic memory test. RESULTS Compared to healthy controls, BD patients performed significantly worse during the episodic memory task. The results further indicate that verbal episodic memory deficits in BD are associated with abnormal functional activity patterns in frontal, occipital and limbic regions, and an increase in stress parameters. LIMITATIONS We aimed to minimise sample heterogeneity by setting clear criteria for remission, based on the scores of a depression (BDI II) and mania scale (BRMAS) and on the DSM IV criteria. However, our patients were not symptom-free and scored higher on BDI II scores than the control group. CONCLUSIONS The results are of interest for the treatment of cognitive symptoms in BD patients, as persistent cognitive impairment may hamper full rehabilitation.


NeuroImage: Clinical | 2015

Schizophrenia risk variants modulate white matter volume across the psychosis spectrum: Evidence from two independent cohorts

Viola Oertel-Knöchel; Thomas Lancaster; Christian Knöchel; Michael Stäblein; Helena Storchak; Britta Reinke; Alina Jurcoane; Jonathan Kniep; David Prvulovic; Kiran Kumar Mantripragada; Katherine E. Tansey; Michael C. O’Donovan; Michael John Owen; David E. J. Linden

Polygenic risk scores, based on risk variants identified in genome-wide-association-studies (GWAS), explain a considerable portion of the heritability for schizophrenia (SZ) and bipolar disorder (BD). However, little is known about the combined effects of these variants, although polygenic neuroimaging has developed into a powerful tool of translational neuroscience. In this study, we used genome wide significant SZ risk variants to test the predictive capacity of the polygenic model and explored potential associations with white matter volume, a key candidate in imaging phenotype for psychotic disorders. By calculating the combined additive schizophrenia risk of seven SNPs (significant hits from a recent schizophrenia GWAS study), we show that increased additive genetic risk for SZ was associated with reduced white matter volume in a group of participants (n = 94) consisting of healthy individuals, SZ first-degree relatives, SZ patients and BD patients. This effect was also seen in a second independent sample of healthy individuals (n = 89). We suggest that a moderate portion of variance (~4%) of white matter volume can be explained by the seven hits from the recent schizophrenia GWAS. These results provide evidence for associations between cumulative genetic risk for schizophrenia and intermediate neuroimaging phenotypes in models of psychosis. Our work contributes to a growing body of literature suggesting that polygenic risk may help to explain white matter alterations associated with familial risk for psychosis.


Bipolar Disorders | 2014

Episodic memory impairments in bipolar disorder are associated with functional and structural brain changes

Viola Oertel-Knöchel; Britta Reinke; Richard Feddern; Annika Knake; Christian Knöchel; David Prvulovic; Johannes Pantel; David Ej Linden

We combined multimodal functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and structural magnetic resonance imaging to probe abnormalities in brain circuits underpinning episodic memory performance deficits in patients with bipolar disorder (BD).

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David Prvulovic

Goethe University Frankfurt

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Christian Knöchel

Goethe University Frankfurt

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Gilberto Sousa Alves

Federal University of Ceará

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Richard Feddern

Goethe University Frankfurt

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Silke Matura

Goethe University Frankfurt

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Alina Jurcoane

Goethe University Frankfurt

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Johannes Pantel

Goethe University Frankfurt

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Laurence O'Dwyer

Goethe University Frankfurt

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