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Shape differences in the corpus callosum in first-episode schizophrenia and first-episode psychotic affective
Melissa Frumin1, Polina Golland, Ron Kikinis
1Consolidated Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School and VA Boston Healthcare System-Brockton Division, 02301, USA.
Objective:
The corpus callosum, the largest white matter tract in the brain, is a midline structure associated with the formation of the hippocampus, septum pellucidum, and cingulate cortex, which have been implicated in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. Corpus callosum shape deformation, therefore, may reflect a midline neurodevelopmental abnormality.
Method:
Corpus callosum area and shape were analyzed in 14 first-episode psychotic patients with schizophrenia, 19 first-episode psychotic patients with affective disorder, and 18 normal comparison subjects.
Results:
No statistically significant corpus callosum area differences between groups were found, but there were differences in the structure's shape between the patients with schizophrenia and the comparison subjects. A correlation between width and angle of the corpus callosum was found in patients with affective disorder.
Conclusions:
Corpus callosum shape abnormalities in first-episode psychotic patients with schizophrenia may reflect a midline neurodevelopmental abnormality.