Developmental brain anomalies in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder: a controlled MRI study

Many of the structural brain abnormalities found in schizophrenia (SC) and bipolar disorder (BD) over the past decade are believed to represent impaired neurodevelopmental processes. The authors hypothesized that incidental developmental anomalies would be more frequently present in the brains of subjects with SC and BD compared with healthy control subjects. The authors systematically assessed the MRI scans of 167 subjects (SC = 67, BD/schizoaffective = 63, healthy control subjects = 37) for the presence of 23 developmental anomalies involving cortical and subcortical structures. No excess neurodevelopmental anomalies were found in the schizophrenic or bipolar/schizoaffective groups. These findings do not support the hypothesis that SC and BD are associated with an excess of gross neurodevelopmental brain anomalies.