Monte S. Buchsbaum and the Genain Quadruplets

The Genain Quadruplets, a genetically identical group of sisters, all developed schizophrenia by their early 20s. Beginning in the 1950s, under the direction of David Rosenthal, they have been studied extensively with a number of neurobiological, neuroradiological and neurobehavioral measures at the Intramural Program of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). A major focus of research interest has been the fact that they varied greatly in the severity of their illness. The present report emphasizes the important role that Monte Buchsbaum had in their evaluation, especially with respect to neuroradiology, during their second period of study at NIMH in the 1980s. It is of special interest that Buchsbaum et al. (1984) concluded "No strong relationship is shown between these (radiological) measures and illness severity or drug responsivity." The inference, therefore, is that the differences in illness severity among the sisters were not readily attributable to differences in the amount of damaged brain, at least as could be determined by the imaging methods available in the 1980s. The current report also summarizes the results of the other studies performed on the sisters in the 1980s, to which Monte Buchsbaum contributed.