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Prefrontal cortex, negative symptoms, and schizophrenia: an MRI study

C G Wible1, J Anderson, M E Shenton

  • 1Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.

Psychiatry Research
|December 12, 2001
PubMed

Insights

Schizophrenia patients showed reduced white matter volume in the right prefrontal cortex. This brain abnormality was linked to negative symptoms, highlighting temporal-prefrontal pathway importance.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Psychiatry
  • Radiology

Background:

  • Schizophrenia is a chronic mental disorder.
  • Previous studies have shown structural brain abnormalities in schizophrenia patients.
  • The role of prefrontal cortex in schizophrenia symptoms is not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To measure prefrontal cortical gray and white matter volume in chronic male schizophrenic subjects.
  • To investigate the association between prefrontal volumes and negative symptoms in schizophrenia.
  • To explore the relationship between prefrontal gray matter and hippocampal volume.

Main Methods:

  • Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to acquire high-resolution brain scans.
  • Seventeen chronic male schizophrenic subjects and 17 age- and handedness-matched male control subjects participated.
  • Regions of interest (ROIs) in the prefrontal cortex were analyzed.

Main Results:

  • No significant differences in prefrontal gray matter volume were found between groups.
  • Right prefrontal white matter volume was significantly reduced in schizophrenic subjects.
  • Schizophrenic subjects with high negative symptom scores had smaller bilateral white matter volumes.
  • Right prefrontal gray matter volume correlated with right hippocampal volume in schizophrenic subjects.

Conclusions:

  • Prefrontal white matter abnormalities are associated with schizophrenia, particularly negative symptoms.
  • Temporal-prefrontal pathways may play a crucial role in schizophrenia symptomatology.
  • Further research is needed to understand the implications of these findings for treatment.

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