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Prefrontal gray matter volume reduction in first episode schizophrenia
Y Hirayasu1, S Tanaka, M E Shenton
1Clinical Neuroscience Division, Laboratory of Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry, Brockton VA Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, Brockton, MA 02301, USA.
Cerebral Cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991)
|March 30, 2001
Summary
First episode schizophrenia patients show reduced prefrontal gray matter volume compared to those with affective psychosis and healthy individuals. This finding highlights a specific structural abnormality in early schizophrenia.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychiatry
- Neuroimaging
Background:
- Functional studies consistently reveal prefrontal abnormalities in schizophrenia.
- Structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings regarding prefrontal volume reduction in schizophrenia have been inconsistent.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate prefrontal gray matter volume in first-episode schizophrenia patients.
- To compare these findings with first-episode affective psychosis patients and healthy controls.
- To determine the presence and specificity of prefrontal abnormalities in schizophrenia.
Main Methods:
- Structural MRI was used to measure prefrontal gray and white matter volumes.
- Participants included first-episode schizophrenia patients (n=17), first-episode affective psychosis patients (n=17), and age-matched healthy comparison subjects (n=17).
- Subjects were matched for gender and parental socio-economic status, with an age range of 18-29 years.
Main Results:
- Significantly reduced total prefrontal gray matter volume was observed in first-episode schizophrenia patients compared to both affective psychosis patients and healthy controls.
- Further analysis revealed significant left prefrontal gray matter reduction and a trend towards right-sided reduction in schizophrenia patients.
- No significant differences in white matter volumes were found among the groups.
Conclusions:
- Prefrontal cortical gray matter volume reduction appears to be selectively present in first-episode schizophrenia.
- This structural abnormality is not observed in first-episode affective psychosis, suggesting specificity to schizophrenia.
- These findings contribute to understanding the neurobiological underpinnings of early schizophrenia.