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Hippocampal pyramidal cell disarray in schizophrenia as a bilateral phenomenon
A J Conrad1, T Abebe, R Austin
1Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, UCLA Medical Center 90024.
Archives of General Psychiatry
|May 1, 1991
Summary
Schizophrenia involves disorganized brain cells in the right hemisphere, similar to the left. This suggests schizophrenia is a bilateral disorder, affecting both brain hemispheres.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychiatry
- Cell Biology
Background:
- Previous research indicated left hemispheric cell disorganization in schizophrenia.
- The role of the right hemisphere in schizophrenia pathophysiology remained less understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantitatively investigate hippocampal cell orientation in schizophrenic subjects compared to controls.
- To determine if right hemispheric cell disorganization is present in schizophrenia.
Main Methods:
- A new, superior measuring technique was employed to determine neuronal axes of orientation.
- Analysis included approximately 10,800 neurons from 11 schizophrenic and 7 control subjects.
- Specific focus on interface zones between hippocampal cornu ammonis sectors.
Main Results:
- Significant differences in hippocampal cell disorganization were observed between schizophrenic and control subjects.
- This difference was particularly notable at the interfaces between cornu ammonis zones 1/2 and 2/3.
- A bimodal distribution of cell orientation values was found in schizophrenic subjects, with one group overlapping controls and another showing significantly higher disorganization.
Conclusions:
- Schizophrenia is associated with robust cell disorganization in the right hemisphere, comparable to findings in the left hemisphere.
- These findings challenge the notion of schizophrenia as solely a left-hemisphere disorder.
- Evidence supports schizophrenia as a bilateral neurological disorder involving structural changes in both cerebral hemispheres.