White matter dysfunction in psychiatric disorders is associated with neurotransmitter and genetic profiles

Functional changes of white matter are largely unexplored in patients with psychiatric disorders. This study examined white matter dysfunctions common in four major psychiatric disorders (including schizophrenia, major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder and obsessive–compulsive disorder) using multimodal magnetic resonance imaging. Here we found increased brain activity in the bilateral anterior thalamic radiation in major psychiatric disorder patients when compared with healthy controls. The spatial pattern of white matter dysfunction in patients with major psychiatric disorders was correlated with the distributions of disease-related neurotransmitters and expression maps of specific genes. These genes were enriched in excitatory neurons and ontological terms related to synaptic function. These findings were replicated in an independent dataset. Collectively, imaging dysfunction of white matter and its molecular genetic basis provided new clues to understand the pathophysiology of major psychiatric disorders.