Frontal lobe metabolism and cerebral morphology in schizophrenia: 31P MRS and MRI studies

The relation between frontal lobe membrane phospholipid metabolism as measured by 31Phosphorus magnetic resonance spectroscopy (31P MRS) and cerebral morphology as measured on magnetic resonance images (MRI) was examined in nine first episode neuroleptic naive schizophrenic patients. Total corpus callosal area was significantly correlated with phosphodiester concentration. When examined separately, this relation was confined to the rostral quartile (genu) of the corpus callosum. The pathophysiological significance of this finding is discussed in relation to neurodevelopmental hypotheses of schizophrenia.