Medial temporal lobe in childhood-onset schizophrenia

The majority of anatomic and neuroimaging studies in adult-onset schizophrenia demonstrate decreased volumes of the medial temporal lobe when compared with findings in normal individuals. The goal of this study was to investigate the hypothesis that subjects with childhood-onset schizophrenia would show decreased volumes of the medial temporal lobe when compared to normal children. Thirteen children meeting DSM-III-R criteria for schizophrenia (mean age 14.2+/-3.8 years) and 20 normal children (mean age 12.0+/-2.8 years) were investigated. MRI scans were performed on a 1.5-T GE Signa MR scanner using a coronal plane SPGR at 1.4-mm slice thickness. Volumes were assessed by manually tracing bilateral hippocampus, amygdala and temporal lobes. After adjustment for age and total brain volume, the amygdala was significantly larger in the schizophrenics than in the control subjects, and this volume increase was more pronounced on the left side. Hippocampus volumes did not differ significantly across groups. There was a nearly significant left-greater-than-right asymmetry of the amygdala in the schizophrenic group but not in the normal group. A nearly significant right-greater-than-left asymmetry was found in the anterior hippocampus for both schizophrenic and control groups. These findings are consistent with previous reports of at least initial sparing of temporal lobe regions in childhood-onset schizophrenia.