Cortex, white matter, and basal ganglia in schizophrenia: a volumetric postmortem study

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry
• Neuroanatomy

Background:

• Schizophrenia is a complex psychiatric disorder with debated neuroanatomical underpinnings.
• Previous studies have reported inconsistent findings regarding brain volume alterations in schizophrenia.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate postmortem brain volume differences in schizophrenia patients compared to matched controls.
• To examine specific regional volumes including cortex, white matter, and basal ganglia.

Main Methods:

• Postmortem volumetry was conducted on 23 schizophrenic brains and 23 control brains.
• Stereological methods were applied to serial coronal sections of complete hemispheres.
• Brains were matched for gender, age, and hemisphere.

Main Results:

• No significant volume differences were found in the cortex or white matter.
• Striatal volume was significantly increased bilaterally in schizophrenic patients, especially on the left.
• Globus pallidus volume was significantly increased in both hemispheres, particularly on the right.

Conclusions:

• The findings suggest that basal ganglia enlargement is a characteristic neuropathological feature in schizophrenia.
• This volume increase in the basal ganglia, specifically the striatum and globus pallidus, may be linked to the pathophysiology of schizophrenia, including paranoid-hallucinatory subtypes.