Volumetric measure of the frontal and temporal lobe regions in schizophrenia - Relationship to negative symptoms

Background: Previous research has provided evidence for bi-ain abnormalitie s in schizophrenia, but their relationship to specific clinical symptoms an d syndrome remains unclear. Methods: With an all-male dermographically similar sample of 53 schizophren ic patients and 29 normal control subjects, cerebral gray and white matter volumes (adjusted for intracranial volume and age) were determined for regi ons in the prefrontal lobe and in the superficial and mesial temporal lobe using T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging with 2.8-mm coronal slices. Results: As a group schizophrenic patients had widespread bilateral decreme nts in gray matter in the prefrontal (7.4%) and temporal lobe regions (8.9% ), but not in white matter in these regions. In the temporal lobe, gray mat ter reductions were found bilaterally in the superior temporal gyrus (6.0%) , but not in the hippocampus anti parahippocampus. While there were no over all group differences in white matter volumes, widespread decrements in pre frontal white matter in schizophrenic patients (n = 53) were related to hig her levels of negative symptoms (partial r[49] = -0.42, P =.002), as measur ed by the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms. A post hoc analysi s revealed that schizophrenic patients with high negative symptoms had gene ralized prefrontal white matter reductions (11.4%) that were most severe in the orbitofrontal subregion (15.1%). Conclusions: These results suggest that gray matter deficits may be a fairl y common structural abnormality of schizophrenia, whereas reductions in pre frontal white matter Ina! bt associated with schizophrenic negative symptom s.