Medial temporal lobe in childhood-onset schizophrenia

The majority of anatomic and neuroimaging studies in adult-onset schizophre nia demonstrate decreased volumes of the medial temporal lobe when compared with findings in normal individuals. The goal of this study was to investi gate the hypothesis that subjects with childhood-onset schizophrenia would show decreased volumes of the medial temporal lobe when compared to normal children. Thirteen children meeting DSM-III-R criteria for schizophrenia (m ean age 14.2 +/- 3.8 years) and 20 normal children (mean age 12.0 +/- 2.8 y ears) were investigated. MRI scans were performed on a 1.5-T GE Signa MR sc anner using a coronal plane SPGR at 1.4-mm slice thickness. Volumes were as sessed by manually tracing bilateral hippocampus, amygdala and temporal lob es. After adjustment for age and total brain volume, the amygdala. was sign ificantly larger in the schizophrenics than in the control subjects, and th is volume increase was more pronounced on the left side. Hippocampus volume s did not differ significantly across groups. There was a nearly significan t left-greater-than-right asymmetry of the amygdala in the schizophrenic gr oup but not in the normal group. A nearly significant right-greater-than-le ft asymmetry was found in the anterior hippocampus for both schizophrenic a nd control groups. These findings are consistent with previous reports of a t least initial sparing of temporal lobe regions in childhood-onset schizop hrenia. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.