Progressive decrease of left Heschl gyrus and planum temporale gray matter volume in first-episode schizophrenia: a longitudinal magnetic resonance imaging study.
BACKGROUND
The Heschl gyrus and planum temporale have crucial roles in auditory perception and language processing. Our previous investigation using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) indicated smaller gray matter volumes bilaterally in the Heschl gyrus and in left planum temporale in patients with first-episode schizophrenia but not in patients with first-episode affective psychosis. We sought to determine whether there are progressive decreases in anatomically defined MRI gray matter volumes of the Heschl gyrus and planum temporale in patients with first-episode schizophrenia and also in patients with first-episode affective psychosis.


METHODS
At a private psychiatric hospital, we conducted a prospective high spatial resolution MRI study that included initial scans of 28 patients at their first hospitalization (13 with schizophrenia and 15 with affective psychosis, 13 of whom had a manic psychosis) and 22 healthy control subjects. Follow-up scans occurred, on average, 1.5 years after the initial scan.


RESULTS
Patients with first-episode schizophrenia showed significant decreases in gray matter volume over time in the left Heschl gyrus (6.9%) and left planum temporale (7.2%) compared with patients with first-episode affective psychosis or control subjects.


CONCLUSIONS
These findings demonstrate a left-biased progressive volume reduction in the Heschl gyrus and planum temporale gray matter in patients with first-episode schizophrenia in contrast to patients with first-episode affective psychosis and control subjects. Schizophrenia but not affective psychosis seems to be characterized by a postonset progression of neocortical gray matter volume loss in the left superior temporal gyrus and thus may not be developmentally fixed.
Kasai
Kiyoto
K
Clinical Neuroscience Division, Laboratory of Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry, Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System, Brockton Division, Brockton, Mass, USA.
Shenton
Martha E
ME
Salisbury
Dean F
DF
Hirayasu
Yoshio
Y
Onitsuka
Toshiaki
T
Spencer
Magdalena H
MH
Yurgelun-Todd
Deborah A
DA
Kikinis
Ron
R
Jolesz
Ferenc A
FA
McCarley
Robert W
RW
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001284:Atrophy; D001303:Auditory Cortex / Q000473:pathology*; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000473:pathology*; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D004292:Dominance, Cerebral / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008432:Mathematical Computing; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012016:Reference Values; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000473:pathology*