3 CLINICAL SYNDROMES OF SCHIZOPHRENIA - A SPECT STUDY

The present study examines whether the three clinical syndromes(psycho motor poverty, disorganisation, reality distortion) are associated wit h unique patterns of regional cerebral blood flow(rCBF) in the cortex, as measured by single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). rC BF was measured in relative terms with Tc99m-HmPAO and SPECT in 20 sch izophrenic patients classified according to DSM-III-R. Ten normals ser ved as controls. Current and past psychiatric functioning was assessed by using the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale(BPRS) and the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R. Hypoperfusion was observed in right middle temporal (p<0.05), right superior temporal (p<0.001), left supe rior temporal (p<0.01) and left thalamus (p<0.05) areas of patients. W e found a moderate negative association of tracer uptake in left super ior temporal with psychomotor poverty(p<0.05).