Abstract
Recent positron emission tomography (PET) studies of patients with psychosis have found decreased glucose metabolism in prefrontal cortex. We examined whether psychometric psychoticism in normals was associated with reduced glucose metabolism in prefrontal cortex in 44 males (mean age 33.27 SD 10.95) and 41 females (mean age 33.04 years SD 10.87). All subjects completed the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ), and underwent the PET scan procedure on a Scanditronix scanner during performance of an auditory continuous performance task. ume of a control region (superior frontal gyms). An analysis of the temporal sulco-gyral pattern showed a non-parallel, discontinuous pattern in schizophrenic patients (Chi Square=l0.8, df=l, p I 0.001, phi=0.60). These findings suggest that a subset of schizophrenics show localized reductions in gray matter of the temporal lobe that are intercorrelated thus suggesting a disturbance of a neural network in schizophrenia. Moreover, degree of thought disorder was related to reduced volume of left posterior STG, an area important as a substrate of language. That the gyral pattern was also disrupted strongly implicates a neurodevelopmental disturbance may be important in the aetiology of schizophrenia.
Published Version
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