title: Intact hippocampal gray matter in schizophrenia as revealed by automatized image analysis postmortem.
abstract: Implicated as a key structure in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia, the hippocampus is at the forefront of neuropathological and neuroimaging research. To elucidate the cellular basis of hippocampal pathology in schizophrenia, we studied the postmortem hippocampal sections of 16 patients suffering from schizophrenia and 16 controls applying the gray-level index (GLI) method. We determined the area-percentage covered by neuronal perikarya in relation to the total area of the pyramidal cell layer in the four subdivisions of the ammon's horn (cornu ammonis, CA1-4) bilaterally. Additionally, we determined the area size of the pyramidal cell layer (CA1-4) and dentate gyrus (DG) granule cell layer. Results showed no significant differences between diagnostic groups with respect to the dependent variables, supporting the view that there is no primary alteration of hippocampal gray matter in schizophrenia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Bonn, Sigmund-Freud-Str. 25, 53105 Bonn, Germany. renehurlemann@gmx.de
authors.forename: René
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hurlemann
authors.forename: Ralf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tepest
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Maier
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Falkai
authors.forename: Kai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Vogeley
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000379:methods*; D018891:Dentate Gyrus / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009474:Neurons / Q000473:pathology; D017966:Pyramidal Cells / Q000473:pathology; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology*