GABA AND BRAIN ABNORMALITIES IN SCHIZOPHRENIA

Some recent autopsy studies indicate that alpha-aminobutyric acid (GAB A) function is decreased in brain areas that involve some of the well- described structural changes observed in schizophrenia. The current st udy examined the relationship between CSF and plasma GABA levels and b rain structural measures in schizophrenia. Sixty-two drug-free, physic ally healthy male patients with schizophrenia (DSM-IIIR) were evaluate d for plasma and CSF GABA, as well as brain structural measures on CT scans. Plasma levels of GABA were associated with prefrontal sulcal wi dening and VBRs, but not global sulcal widening in the schizophrenic p atients. CSF GABA measures were not associated with brain structural m easures, but were associated with age and age of onset. The significan t relationship between plasma GABA, but not CSF GABA, and specific bra in morphology measures in schizophrenic patients suggests that if GABA transmission is impaired in schizophrenia, it is a local, but not glo bal, phenomenon. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd.