Grey matter volume patterns in thalamic nuclei are associated with familial risk for schizophrenia

Random Forests discriminated SCZ from HC (accuracy = 81%) and SIB from HC (accuracy = 75%). Left anteromedial thalamic volumes were significantly associated with both multivariate classifications (p < 0.05). Excluding HC misclassified as SCZ improved greatly HC vs. SIB classification (Cohen's d = 1.39). These findings suggest that multivariate statistics identify a familial background associated with thalamic GMV reduction in SCZ. They also suggest the relevance of inter-individual variability of GMV patterns for the discrimination of individuals at familial risk for the disorder.