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Decreased left frontal lobe N-acetylaspartate in schizophrenia
R F Deicken1, L Zhou, F Corwin
1Magnetic Resonance Unit, VA Medical Center, San Francisco, CA 94121, USA.
Objective:
The authors measured N-acetylaspartate (a putative neuronal marker), using in vivo proton magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (1H-MRSI), in the frontal lobes of schizophrenic patients and normal subjects.
Method:
Frontal lobe 1H-MRSI was performed bilaterally on 24 medicated schizophrenic patients and 15 healthy comparison subjects. Levels of N-acetylaspartate, creatine, and choline were determined.
Results:
Relative to the comparison group, the patients with schizophrenia demonstrated significantly lower levels of N-acetylaspartate in the left frontal lobe. There was no association between level of N-acetylaspartate and duration of illness or medication dosage. No differences between groups or lateralized asymmetries in choline or creatine were noted.
Conclusions:
This preliminary study provides support for decreased N-acetylaspartate in the left frontal lobe in schizophrenia and neuronal dysfunction in this brain region.