title: Mr morphometry analysis of grey matter volume reduction in schizophrenia: association with hallucinations.
abstract: The authors used voxel-based morphometry (VBM) to study GM volume differences in the whole brain volume between a group of patients with schizophrenia and a healthy control group. There were 12 patients and 12 control subjects. The subjects were scanned in a 1.5 T MR scanner. The patients had all been evaluated by a senior psychiatrist on the brief psychiatric rating scale (BPRS). The VBM data was correlated with reports of rate and frequency of hallucinations based on their scores on the BPRS hallucination item. There were significant grey matter volume reductions in the schizophrenia patient group in the left superior (transverse) temporal gyrus, the left middle frontal gyrus, and in the right cuneus. Areas of grey matter volume reduction that correlated negatively with hallucinations were found in the left superior (transverse) temporal gyrus, left thalamus, and left and right cerebellum. This article proposes that significant reductions in grey matter volume may be instrumental in generating spontaneous neuronal activity that is associated with speech perception experiences in the absence of an external acoustic stimulus that may cause hallucinations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway.
authors.forename: Gesche
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Neckelmann
authors.forename: Karsten
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Specht
authors.forename: Anders
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lund
authors.forename: Lars
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ersland
authors.forename: Alf Inge
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Smievoll
authors.forename: Dag
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Neckelmann
authors.forename: Kenneth
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hugdahl
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D006179:Gyrus Cinguli / Q000473:pathology; D006212:Hallucinations / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008875:Middle Aged; D009929:Organ Size; D020534:Parahippocampal Gyrus / Q000473:pathology; D012016:Reference Values; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000473:pathology*; D013067:Speech Perception / Q000502:physiology; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000473:pathology