title: Parietal lobe volume deficits in schizophrenia spectrum disorders.
abstract: There has been little attention given to whether parietal lobe structural deficits are present in patients with schizophrenia and related personality disorders. The current study was designed to examine parietal volume alterations between schizophrenia and schizotypal personality disorder. Twenty-five patients with schizotypal disorder, 53 patients with schizophrenia, and 59 healthy volunteers were scanned using high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Volume measurements of the postcentral gyrus (PoCG), precuneus, superior parietal gyrus (SuPG), supramarginal gyrus (SMG), and angular gyrus (AGG) were performed on consecutive 1-mm coronal slices. Gray matter volumes were reduced in all parietal subregions in patients with schizophrenia compared with healthy controls. White matter volumes were also reduced in the SuPG and PoCG. In contrast, the schizotypal subjects had gray matter reductions only in the PoCG, while other regions were not affected. In addition, there was a lack of normal significant-leftward asymmetry in the SMG in schizophrenia. These findings demonstrate that volume reductions in the somatosensory cortices are common morphological characteristics in schizophrenia spectrum disorders. The additional volume alterations in schizophrenia may support the notion that a deficit in the posterior parietal region is critical for the manifestation of overt psychotic symptoms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuropsychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toyama, 2630 Sugitani, Toyama 930-0194, Japan.
authors.forename: Shi-Yu
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Michio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: Tsutomu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: Hirofumi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hagino
authors.forename: Yasuhiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kawasaki
authors.forename: Mie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Matsui
authors.forename: Hikaru
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Seto
authors.forename: Masayoshi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kurachi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001284:Atrophy; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology; D001931:Brain Mapping; D004292:Dominance, Cerebral / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000473:pathology; D010296:Parietal Lobe / Q000473:pathology*; D012016:Reference Values; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012569:Schizotypal Personality Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis*; D013003:Somatosensory Cortex / Q000473:pathology