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Updated: Jul 15, 2026
A Standardized Pipeline for Examining Human Cerebellar Grey Matter Morphometry using Structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Published on: February 4, 2022
Frontal and temporal volume size of grey and white matter in patients with schizophrenia: an MRI parcellation study
Gaku Okugawa1, Chiharu Tamagaki, Ingrid Agartz
1Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Human Brain Informatics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm 171-76, Sweden. okugawa@takii.kmu.ac.jp
Abstract:
We previously performed a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) parcellation study that showed smaller grey and white matter volumes of the temporal lobes and increased CSF volumes in the frontal and temporal lobe in men with schizophrenia. One question that arose from this earlier study was whether similar structural changes in the brain are found in a large group of schizophrenic patients consisting of both men and women. In the present study, MRI scans were acquired from 94 patients of both genders with schizophrenia and 101 healthy subjects. After the automatic segmentation of grey matter, white matter, and cerebrospinal fluid, the frontal, temporal, parietal, and occipital lobes were automatically parcellated according to the Talairach atlas. Compared with healthy subjects, schizophrenic patients showed significantly smaller volumes of grey matter in the temporal lobe and white matter in the frontal lobe. Schizophrenic patients had a greater CSF volume in the frontal and temporal lobes. These results suggest that volume reduction in the cerebrum is prominent in the frontal and temporal lobes in both men and women with schizophrenia.
Insights
This study found that individuals with schizophrenia, both men and women, exhibit reduced grey and white matter volumes in the temporal and frontal lobes, respectively. Cerebrospinal fluid volumes were also increased in these brain regions.
Area of Science:
- Neuroimaging
- Psychiatry
- Brain Anatomy
Background:
- Previous magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies indicated sex-specific brain volume differences in schizophrenia.
- A need existed to investigate if these structural brain changes are consistent across both genders in schizophrenia.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine brain structural differences in a large cohort of male and female patients with schizophrenia compared to healthy controls.
- To determine if reduced grey and white matter volumes and increased cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) volumes are present in both genders.
Main Methods:
- Acquisition of MRI scans from 94 schizophrenia patients and 101 healthy subjects.
- Automatic segmentation of grey matter, white matter, and CSF.
- Automated parcellation of frontal, temporal, parietal, and occipital lobes using the Talairach atlas.
Main Results:
- Schizophrenia patients showed significantly smaller grey matter volumes in the temporal lobe compared to controls.
- Patients with schizophrenia exhibited significantly smaller white matter volumes in the frontal lobe.
- Increased cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) volumes were observed in the frontal and temporal lobes of schizophrenia patients.
Conclusions:
- Brain volume reductions in the frontal and temporal lobes are characteristic of schizophrenia in both men and women.
- Cerebral volume alterations in schizophrenia are not limited to a specific sex.
- These findings reinforce the role of widespread structural brain abnormalities in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia.
