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Middle and inferior temporal gyrus gray matter volume abnormalities in first-episode schizophrenia: an MRI study
Noriomi Kuroki1, Martha E Shenton, Dean F Salisbury
1Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02301, USA.
Objective:
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies of schizophrenia reveal temporal lobe structural brain abnormalities in the superior temporal gyrus and the amygdala-hippocampal complex. However, the middle and inferior temporal gyri have received little investigation, especially in first-episode schizophrenia.
Method:
High-spatial-resolution MRI was used to measure gray matter volume in the inferior, middle, and superior temporal gyri in 20 patients with first-episode schizophrenia, 20 patients with first-episode affective psychosis, and 23 healthy comparison subjects.
Results:
Gray matter volume in the middle temporal gyrus was smaller bilaterally in patients with first-episode schizophrenia than in comparison subjects and in patients with first-episode affective psychosis. Posterior gray matter volume in the inferior temporal gyrus was smaller bilaterally in both patient groups than in comparison subjects. Among the superior, middle, and inferior temporal gyri, the left posterior superior temporal gyrus gray matter in the schizophrenia group had the smallest volume, the greatest percentage difference, and the largest effect size in comparisons with healthy comparison subjects and with affective psychosis patients.
Conclusions:
Smaller gray matter volumes in the left and right middle temporal gyri and left posterior superior temporal gyrus were present in schizophrenia but not in affective psychosis at first hospitalization. In contrast, smaller bilateral posterior inferior temporal gyrus gray matter volume is present in both schizophrenia and affective psychosis at first hospitalization. These findings suggest that smaller gray matter volumes in the dorsal temporal lobe (superior and middle temporal gyri) may be specific to schizophrenia, whereas smaller posterior inferior temporal gyrus gray matter volumes may be related to pathology common to both schizophrenia and affective psychosis.
Insights
First-episode schizophrenia patients show reduced gray matter in the middle and superior temporal gyri, unlike those with affective psychosis. Both conditions exhibit smaller inferior temporal gyrus volumes, suggesting distinct and common neuropathologies.
Area of Science:
- Neuroimaging
- Psychiatry
- Brain Anatomy
Background:
- Schizophrenia is associated with temporal lobe abnormalities, particularly in the superior temporal gyrus and amygdala-hippocampal complex.
- The middle and inferior temporal gyri are less studied in first-episode schizophrenia.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate gray matter volume differences in the inferior, middle, and superior temporal gyri in first-episode schizophrenia.
- To compare these differences with first-episode affective psychosis and healthy controls.
Main Methods:
- High-spatial-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was employed.
- Gray matter volume was measured in the inferior, middle, and superior temporal gyri.
- Participants included 20 first-episode schizophrenia patients, 20 first-episode affective psychosis patients, and 23 healthy controls.
Main Results:
- Patients with first-episode schizophrenia had smaller bilateral middle temporal gyrus gray matter volume compared to both controls and affective psychosis patients.
- Both patient groups showed smaller bilateral posterior inferior temporal gyrus gray matter volume than controls.
- The left posterior superior temporal gyrus exhibited the most significant volume reduction and effect size in schizophrenia patients.
Conclusions:
- Reduced gray matter in the middle and posterior superior temporal gyri appears specific to schizophrenia at first hospitalization.
- Reduced gray matter in the posterior inferior temporal gyrus is observed in both schizophrenia and affective psychosis.
- These findings suggest distinct dorsal temporal lobe abnormalities in schizophrenia and shared ventral temporal lobe pathology in both disorders.
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