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Updated: May 16, 2026

Brain Morphology of Cannabis Users With or Without Psychosis: A Pilot MRI Study
Published on: August 18, 2020
Anatomical substrates of cognitive and clinical dimensions in first episode schizophrenia
S Rigucci1, C Rossi-Espagnet, S Ferracuti
1Unit of Psychiatry, Sant'Andrea Hospital, Department of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Sensory Organs (Ne.S.M.O.S.), Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
Objective:
To explore gray (GM) and white matter (WM) abnormalities and the relationships with neuropsychopathology in first-episode schizophrenia (FES).
Method:
Nineteen patients with first episode of non-affective psychosis and 18 controls underwent a magnetic resonance voxel-based morphometry. Additionally, WM fractional anisotropy (FA) was calculated. For correlative analysis, symptoms and neuropsychological performances were scored by PANSS and by a comprehensive neuropsychological assessment respectively.
Results:
Patients showed significantly decreased volume of left temporal lobe and disarray of all major WM tracts. Disorganized PANSS factor was inversely related to left cerebellar GM volume (corrected P = 0.03) and to WM FA of the left cerebellum, inferior fronto-occipital fasciculi (IFOF), and inferior longitudinal fasciculi (corrected P < 0.05). PANSS negative factor was inversely related to FA in the IFOF and superior longitudinal fasciculi (corrected P < 0.05). Impairment in facial emotion identification showed associations with temporo-occipital GM volume decrease (corrected P = 0.003) and WM disarray of superior and middle temporal gyri, anterior thalamic radiation, and superior longitudinal fasciculi (corrected P < 0.05). Speed of processing and visual memory correlated with WM abnormalities in fronto-temporal tracts.
Conclusion:
These results confirm how the structural development of key brain regions is related to neuropsychopathological dysfunction in FES, consistently with a neurodevelopmentally derived misconnection syndrome.
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