Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34226485›Full record

ArticleTranslational psychiatry2021

Brain glutamate concentration in men with early psychosis: a magnetic resonance spectroscopy case-control study at 7 T.

Beata R Godlewska, Amedeo Minichino, Uzay Emir, Ilinca Angelescu, Belinda Lennox, Masa Micunovic, Oliver Howes, Philip J Cowen

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Translational psychiatry, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
21citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
3.6field-weighted citation impact, top 6% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

21 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 31 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
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  6. Concerted elevations of cortical and striatal glutamate and GABA in antipsychotic-free individuals at clinical high-risk for psychosis.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2025
    Article
  7. Article
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  9. Leveraging ultra-high field (7T) MRI in psychiatric research.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2024
    Review
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  11. Article
  12. Basal glutamate in the hippocampus and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in schizophrenia: Relationships to cognitive proficiency investigated with structural equation modelling.The world journal of biological psychiatry : the official journal of the World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry · 2023
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Beata R GodlewskaDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK. beata.godlewska@psych.ox.ac.uk.ORCID 0000-0002-5973-3765
Amedeo MinichinoDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-6309-6324
Uzay EmirWellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Ilinca AngelescuDepartment of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, London, UK.
Belinda LennoxDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-4972-8786
Masa MicunovicDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Oliver HowesEarly Intervention Psychosis NHS England South, Oxford, UK.
Philip J CowenDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.ORCID 0000-0001-5518-6138
University of Oxford · GBOxford Health NHS Foundation Trust · GBEarly Intervention Foundation · GB

Funding

Medical Research Council MC_U120097115Medical Research Council MR/S003037/1RCUK | Medical Research Council (MRC) MR/K022202/1
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Abnormalities in glutamate neurotransmission are linked to psychotic symptoms and cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia. magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) provides an acceptable means of measuring glutamate in the human brain but findings from patient studies at conventional magnetic field strength show considerable heterogeneity. Ultra-high-field MRS offers greater precision in glutamate measurement, particularly in delineation of glutamate from its precursor and metabolite, glutamine. This study aimed to use high-field (7 T) MRS to measure concentrations of glutamate and glutamine in three brain regions, anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and putamen (PUT), in young men with early psychosis. MRS was performed in 17 male participants with early psychosis and 18 healthy age-matched controls. Neurometabolite levels were calculated with unsuppressed water signal as the reference and corrected for individual grey matter, white matter and cerebrospinal fluid concentration. Cognitive function was measured with the Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia (BACS). Compared to controls, patients with early psychosis had lower concentrations of glutamate and glutamine in ACC. No differences were apparent in the DLPFC and PUT. In patients with early psychosis, there was a highly significant correlation between glutamate concentration in ACC and performance on the BACS, though the numbers available for this analysis were small. Our finding of lower glutamate levels in ACC in patients with schizophrenia is consistent with a recent meta-analysis of 7 T studies and suggests that this abnormality is present in both patients with early psychosis and those with longer-established illness. The possible link between ACC glutamate and cognitive performance requires replication in larger studies.

Indexed as

Glutamic AcidPsychotic DisordersBrainCase-Control StudiesGlutamineGyrus CinguliHumansMagnetic Resonance SpectroscopyMaleProton Magnetic Resonance SpectroscopyGlutamic AcidGlutamine

Identifiers

PMID34226485
PMCPMC8257573
OpenAlexW3183060387

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.