Mapping morphology of the corpus callosum in schizophrenia

The nature and extent of callosal morphological alterations in schizophreni a remain unresolved. A parametric surface modeling approach using magnetic resonance (MR) images was employed. This provided spatially accurate repres entations of midsagittal callosal surfaces in schizophrenic patients (n = 2 5; 15 males) and normal controls (n = 28; 15 males). Areas of functionally relevant callosal channels and measures reflecting callosal shape were visu alized and compared across groups. To register neuroanatomical landmarks su rrounding the corpus callosum, each three-dimensional MR volume was scaled according to Talairach AC-PC distance, and raw distances included as covari ates in multivariate analyses. Results revealed: (i) a marked vertical disp lacement of the corpus callosum in patients (P < 0.01); (ii) increases in c urvature of superior and inferior callosal surfaces (P < 0.001); and (iii) significant increases in maximum widths in anterior and posterior regions i n male patients compared to male controls; as well as (iv) increased patter ns of callosal variability in female patients but no effects of diagnosis b etween female groups. These findings demonstrate a clear index of structura l neuropathology in male schizophrenic patients. Displacement and curvature increases were highly correlated with structural differences in surroundin g neuroanatomical regions, including increased volume of the lateral ventri cles (P < 0.01).