Abstract
The purpose of this study was to evaluate gray matter (GM) and white matter (WM) volume alterations in whole-brain structures in patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls using voxel-based morphometry (VBM), and further to assess the correlation between GM and WM volume variations and symptom severity in schizophrenia. A total of 22 patients with schizophrenia and 22 age-matched healthy controls participated. Magnetic resonance image data were processed using SPM8 software with diffeomorphic anatomical registration via an exponentiated Lie algebra (DARTEL) algorithm. Patients with schizophrenia exhibited significantly decreased GM volumes of the insula, superior temporal gyrus (STG), gyrus rectus, and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) compared with healthy controls. The GM volumes of the STG and gyrus rectus were negatively correlated with the positive scales on the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and those of the STG and ACC were negatively correlated with the negative scales. The durations of illness in schizophrenia were negatively correlated with the GM volumes of the insula, STG, and ACC. Patients with schizophrenia exhibited significantly decreased WM volumes of the superior frontal gyrus, inferior temporal gyrus, and STG. The WM volumes of the STG were negatively correlated with the duration of illness. Our findings suggest that GM and WM volume abnormalities in the STG are associated with the psychopathology of schizophrenia.
Highlights
Schizophrenia is a severe mental illness characterized by deficits in cognition and emotion [1]
A 3% decrease in whole-brain volume has been observed in patients with schizophrenia, and this decrease is more prominent in gray matter (GM; 2%) than in white matter (WM; 1%) [3,4]
The GM volumes of the superior temporal gyrus (STG) and gyrus rectus were negatively correlated with the positive scales of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), whereas those of the STG and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) were negatively correlated with the negative scales
Summary
Schizophrenia is a severe mental illness characterized by deficits in cognition and emotion [1]. Brain structural abnormalities are detectable in most individuals afflicted with schizophrenia during the chronic stages [2]. A 3% decrease in whole-brain volume has been observed in patients with schizophrenia, and this decrease is more prominent in gray matter (GM; 2%) than in white matter (WM; 1%) [3,4]. Volumetric GM abnormalities have become more important than ever in understanding the neuropathology of schizophrenia.
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