RELATIONSHIP OF PREFRONTAL AND TEMPORAL-LOBE MRI MEASURES TO NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL PERFORMANCE IN CHRONIC-SCHIZOPHRENIA

This preliminary study focused on the relationship between prefrontal and temporal lobe MRI measures and neuropsychological performance in c hronic schizophrenia. Seventeen schizophrenic inpatients received an M RI and a neuropsychological test battery after clinical stabilization, on average 2 months after admission. The central finding was a signif icant inverse correlation between neurocognitive measures of prefronta l function and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) area, strongest in the left hemisphere. Neurocognitive performance did not correlate s ignificantly with orbital frontal area or total temporal lobe volume. The correlations of neuropsychological performance with total frontal volume and whole brain volume were generally not significant, although the pattern was similar to that associated with the DLPFC. Because a number of executive-attention and abstraction measures were significan tly associated with the DLPFC, dysfunctions of this region may underli e a syndrome of cognitive dysfunctions. Longterm memory functions were also significantly correlated with the DLPFC, raising the possibility that recall memory defects in schizophrenia are, in parr, associated with prefrontal contributions of attention, abstract reasoning, and ex ecutive function. This study needs replication with a larger sample of patients and more comprehensive volumetric morphometric analyses.