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Paracingulate morphologic differences in males with established schizophrenia: a magnetic resonance imaging
Murat Yücel1, Geoffrey W Stuart, Paul Maruff
1Cognitive Neuropsychiatry Research and Academic Unit, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne, Sunshine Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Biological Psychiatry
|June 25, 2002
Summary
Male patients with schizophrenia exhibit reduced left anterior cingulate cortex folding, indicating atypical brain development. This finding highlights neurodevelopmental disturbances in schizophrenia, affecting left hemisphere development.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychiatry
- Brain Imaging
Background:
- Previous research indicated sex differences in anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) folding in healthy individuals.
- Schizophrenia is associated with altered or absent typical brain asymmetries.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate ACC sulcal-gyral patterns in male patients with schizophrenia.
- To compare ACC morphology between schizophrenia patients and healthy male controls.
Main Methods:
- High-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to assess ACC surface morphology.
- Three ACC sulcal patterns (prominent, present, absent) were classified based on the paracingulate sulcus.
- Cerebral hemispheric folding measures were used to confirm ACC-specific findings.
Main Results:
- Patients with schizophrenia lacked the typical leftward ACC sulcal asymmetry observed in controls.
- This asymmetry was due to reduced cortical folding in the left ACC of schizophrenia patients.
- These ACC differences were independent of overall left hemisphere folding variations.
Conclusions:
- Male schizophrenia patients show disturbed neurodevelopment of the left ACC.
- Findings suggest a broader aberration in left hemisphere development in male schizophrenia patients.