There has been a substantial amount of research reporting the neuroanatomical associations of psychotic symptoms in people with schizophrenia. Comparatively little attention has been paid to the neuroimaging correlates of subclinical psychotic symptoms, so-called “psychotic-like experiences” (PLEs), within large healthy populations. PLEs are relatively common in the general population (7–13%), can be distressing and negatively affect health. This study therefore examined gray and white matter associations of four different PLEs (auditory or visual PLEs, and delusional ideas about conspiracies or communications) in subjects of the UK Biobank study with neuroimaging data (N = 21,390, mean age = 63 years). We tested for associations between any PLE (N = 768) and individual PLEs with gray and white matter brain structures, controlling for sex, age, intracranial volume, scanning site, and position in the scanner. Individuals that reported having experienced auditory hallucinations (N = 272) were found to have smaller volumes of the caudate, putamen, and accumbens (β = −0.115–0.134, p_corrected = 0.048–0.036), and reduced temporal lobe volume (β = −0.017, p_corrected = 0.047) compared to those that did not. People who indicated that they had ever believed in unreal conspiracies (N = 111) had a larger volume of the left amygdala (β = 0.023, p_corrected = 0.038). Individuals that reported a history of visual PLEs (N = 435) were found to have reduced white matter microstructure of the forceps major (β = −0.029, p_corrected = 0.009), an effect that was more marked in participants who reported PLEs as distressing. These associations were not accounted for by diagnoses of psychotic or depressive illness, nor the known risk factors for psychotic symptoms of childhood adversity or cannabis use. These findings suggest altered regional gray matter volumes and white matter microstructure in association with PLEs in the general population. They further suggest that these alterations may appear more frequently with the presentation of different psychotic symptoms in the absence of clinically diagnosed psychotic disorders.

大量研究报告了精神分裂症患者精神病症状的神经解剖学关联。对于大量健康人群中亚临床精神病症状（即所谓的“精神病样体验”（PLE））的神经影像学相关性，人们的关注相对较少。 PLE 在普通人群中相对常见（7-13%），可能令人痛苦并对健康产生负面影响。因此，本研究利用神经影像数据（ N = 21,390，平均年龄 = 63 岁）检查了英国生物银行研究对象中四种不同 PLE（听觉或视觉 PLE，以及有关阴谋或交流的妄想想法）的灰质和白质关联。我们测试了任何 PLE ( N = 768) 和个体 PLE 与灰质和白质大脑结构之间的关联，并控制了性别、年龄、颅内容积、扫描部位和扫描仪中的位置。报告曾经历过幻听的个体 ( N = 272) 被发现尾状核、壳核和伏核体积较小 ( β = -0.115–0.134, p_校正= 0.048–0.036)，颞叶体积较小 ( β = −0.017， p_校正= 0.047）与那些没有这样做的人相比。那些表示自己曾经相信过不真实阴谋的人 ( N = 111) 的左侧杏仁核体积较大 ( β = 0.023， p_校正= 0.038)。报告有视觉 PLE 病史的个体 ( N = 435) 被发现钳大部白质微结构减少 ( β = -0.029， p_校正= 0。009），这种效应在那些报告 PLE 令人痛苦的参与者中更为明显。这些关联并没有被精神病或抑郁症的诊断所解释，也没有被童年逆境或大麻使用的精神病症状的已知危险因素所解释。这些发现表明，区域灰质体积和白质微观结构的改变与普通人群中的 PLE 相关。他们进一步表明，在没有临床诊断的精神障碍的情况下，这些改变可能会随着不同精神病症状的出现而更频繁地出现。