Gross brain morphology in schizophrenia: a regional analysis of traditional diagnostic subtypes

Fifty-six patients with chronic schizophrenia were categorized into 2 groups based on traditional diagnostic subtypology. They were then compared on indices of cortical and subcortical cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) volume to explore whether the more virulent nonparanoid disorder was linked to cortical or subcortical morphological brain abnormalities. They were examined also to determine whether abnormalities in a specific cerebral region were related to greater chronicity or severity of schizophrenia. The two groups differed significantly only in subcortical but not cortical CSF volume. The regional changes, however, did not appear to characterize exclusively the virulent subtypes. The results and their implications for future studies on the neuroanatomical correlates of schizophrenia subtypes are discussed.