DEVELOPMENTAL BRAIN ABNORMALITIES IN THE OFFSPRING OF SCHIZOPHRENIC MOTHERS .2. STRUCTURAL BRAIN CHARACTERISTICS OF SCHIZOPHRENIA AND SCHIZOTYPAL PERSONALITY-DISORDER
Td. Cannon et al., DEVELOPMENTAL BRAIN ABNORMALITIES IN THE OFFSPRING OF SCHIZOPHRENIC MOTHERS .2. STRUCTURAL BRAIN CHARACTERISTICS OF SCHIZOPHRENIA AND SCHIZOTYPAL PERSONALITY-DISORDER, Archives of general psychiatry, 51(12), 1994, pp. 955-962
Background: We examined differences in ventricular and sulcal cerebros
pinal fluid-to-brain ratios as a function of lifetime psychiatric diag
nosis in the offspring of schizophrenic mothers (high-risk sample) and
in the offspring of normal parents (low-risk sample). Methods: We use
d a cohort analytic study of 17 high-risk individuals with schizophren
ia, 31 high-risk individuals with schizotypal personality disorder, 33
high-risk individuals with nonschizophrenia-spectrum psychiatric diso
rders, 45 high-risk individuals with no disorders, 31 low-risk individ
uals with psychiatric disorders of all types, and 46 low-risk individu
als with no disorders, evaluated initially in 1962 when they were a me
an age of15 years, and reexamined from 1986 through 1989 with psychiat
ric interviews and computed tomographic scans of the brain. Results: H
igh-risk individuals with schizophrenia and schizotypal personality di
sorder evidenced an equivalent degree of cortical sulcal enlargement,
and bo th groups evidenced significantly greater sulcal enlargement th
an did high-risk individuals with nonschizophrenia-spectrum disorders
and no disorders and low-risk individuals with psychiatric disorders a
nd no disorders. High-risk individuals with schizophrenia evidenced si
gnificantly greater ventricular enlargement than did high-risk and low
-risk subjects with other disorders and no disorders, including those
with schizotypal personality disorder. These differences were independ
ent of age, gender, history of substance dependence, and history of or
ganic brain syndromes and head injuries. Conclusions: Among the offspr
ing of schizophrenic parents, cortical abnormalities are expressed equ
ally across the range of syndromes in the schizophrenia spectrum. Subc
ortical abnormalities (ie, ventricular enlargement) are more pronounce
d in the more severe syndrome (ie, schizophrenia).