Decreased slow-wave sleep and enlarged lateral ventricles in schizophrenia

All-night electroencephalogram measures were evaluated against computed tomography scan measures, negative symptoms, and premorbid personality assessment in ten drug-free male schizophrenic patients. Computed tomography scan measures included ventricle brain ratio, cortical atrophy, and width of the third ventricle. Decreased stage-4 sleep was associated with enlarged VBR, poor premorbid functioning, and negative symptoms. Size of the VBR accounted for 58.5% of the variance in stage-4 sleep. Brain atrophy was associated with longer sleep latency but with less arousals once the patients were asleep. Rapid-eye-movement measures did not correlate significantly with any of the variables examined. Our data suggest that decreased slow-wave sleep and ventricle size are associated in schizophrenia.