title: Investigation of corpus callosum in schizophrenia with diffusion imaging.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Corpus callosum (CC) is the main white matter commissure between the two cerebral hemispheres. Abnormalities of CC have been shown in schizophrenia patients by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies. We here further investigated CC organization with diffusion imaging (DWI) in a sample of schizophrenia patients recruited from the epidemiologically defined catchment area of South Verona, Italy.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sixty-seven patients with schizophrenia and 70 normal controls were studied. Regions of interests (ROIs), standardized at 5 pixels, were placed in CC on the non-diffusion weighted echoplanar images (b = 0) and were then automatically transferred to the corresponding maps to obtain the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) of water molecules.
  
  
  RESULTS
  ADC measures for all callosal subregions in schizophrenia patients were significantly greater compared to normal controls (ANCOVA, p < 0.05). Positive symptoms significantly correlated with anterior callosal ADC measures (partial correlation analyses, p < 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings support the existence of widespread microstructure disruption of CC in schizophrenia, which may ultimately lead to inter-hemispheric misconnection, and also suggest a specific role of anterior transcallosal disconnectivity in underlying positive symptoms. Future longitudinal MRI studies in high risk and first-episode patients together with neurophysiological tests are indicated to further examine CC anatomical abnormalities and inter-hemispheric transmission in schizophrenia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Section of Psychiatry, University of Udine, Udine, Italy. paolo.brambilla@uniud.it
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Brambilla
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cerini
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gasparini
authors.forename: Amelia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Versace
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Andreone
authors.forename: Enrico
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Vittorini
authors.forename: Corrado
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Barbui
authors.forename: Luisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pelizza
authors.forename: Michela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nosè
authors.forename: Leone
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Barlocco
authors.forename: Giovanna
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Marrella
authors.forename: Manuela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gregis
authors.forename: Kalliopi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tournikioti
authors.forename: Antony S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: David
authors.forename: Matcheri S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Keshavan
authors.forename: Michele
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tansella
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001931:Brain Mapping; D010054:Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003337:Corpus Callosum / Q000473:pathology*; D038524:Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis*; D013223:Statistics as Topic