Correlations between clinical symptoms, working memory functions and structural brain abnormalities in men with schizophrenia.
Thirteen male patients with schizophrenia and thirteen male normal control subjects were compared by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) on volumes of the straight gyrus (SG), anterior cingulate gyrus, middle frontal gyrus, hippocampus, third ventricle, cavum septi pellucidi, total brain volume and intracranial volume. In addition, neuropsychological tasks were used to measure working memory and executive functions. Healthy volunteers and schizophrenic patients showed no significant differences in mean values for volumes of regions of interests. In the case of the SG, we found a significant difference in laterality: the tendency toward left dominance in healthy volunteers changed to significant right dominance in patients. The schizophrenic patients showed lower performance in working memory tasks, and strongly significant group differences were observed in measures of neurological signs assessed by the Neurological Evaluation Scale (NES). Negative symptoms correlated with the level of spatial working memory and executive functions. Negative symptoms also correlated with the volume of the right hippocampus, while the rate of anhedonia negatively correlated with the relative volume of the left SG.
Department of Psychiatry, University of Szeged, Hungary. szendi@nepsy.szote.u-szeged.hu
István
I
Szendi
Marianna
M
Kiss
Mihály
M
Racsmány
Krisztina
K
Boda
Csongor
C
Cimmer
Erika
E
Vörös
Zoltán A
ZA
Kovács
György
G
Szekeres
Gabriella
G
Galsi
Csaba
C
Pléh
László
L
Csernay
Zoltán
Z
Janka
D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003710:Demography; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014888:Wechsler Scales