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Structural brain abnormalities in male schizophrenics reflect fronto-temporal dissociation
P W Woodruff1, I C Wright, N Shuriquie
1Department of Psychological Medicine, King's College School of Medicine, London.
Psychological Medicine
|December 24, 1997
Summary
Schizophrenia patients show altered brain structure connections. Specifically, a dissociation between frontal and temporal lobe regions was observed, unlike in healthy individuals.
Area of Science:
- Neuroimaging
- Neuroscience
- Psychiatry
Background:
- Previous research highlights isolated frontal and temporal lobe abnormalities in schizophrenia.
- Structural associations between these regions in schizophrenia remain poorly understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate abnormal patterns of correlation between regional brain volumes in male patients with chronic schizophrenia.
- To explore structural fronto-temporal associations in schizophrenia.
Main Methods:
- Structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to compare 42 male patients with chronic schizophrenia to 43 matched healthy controls.
- Correlational analyses examined associations between regional brain volumes, with non-parametric randomization testing for group differences.
Main Results:
- Schizophrenia patients exhibited volume deficits in the left temporal lobe, hippocampus, and right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, alongside enlarged ventricles.
- Healthy controls showed strong positive correlations between prefrontal and temporal regions.
- Patients displayed significantly reduced inter-regional correlations, notably a dissociation between prefrontal cortex and superior temporal gyrus volumes.
Conclusions:
- The findings support a 'fronto-temporal dissociation' in schizophrenia.
- This dissociation may stem from impaired developmental trophic interactions between frontal and temporal lobes.