title: Inferior frontal white matter volume and suicidality in schizophrenia.
abstract: The neurobiology of suicidality in schizophrenia is largely unknown. We therefore assessed gray and white matter volumes associated with past suicidality and current self-aggression in schizophrenia. Fifty-five outpatients with schizophrenia (n=55) and healthy controls (n=55), matched for age, gender and handedness, were recruited. Ten patients had a life-time history of one or more suicide attempts. Current self-aggression was assessed using the Modified Overt Aggression Scale. High resolution structural magnetic resonance images were analyzed by voxel-based morphometry. We found significantly larger inferior frontal white matter volumes bilaterally in patients with a previous suicide attempt as compared with those patients without a history of suicidality. No other significant white or gray matter volume differences were observed. White matter volume in these regions did not differ between healthy controls and those patients without a previous suicide attempt. Furthermore, among patients, the level of current self-aggression showed a significant positive correlation with white matter volume in the same regions. Inferior frontal white matter alterations in fronto-temporo-limbic circuits may be associated with suicidality and self-aggression in schizophrenia.
authors.affiliation: IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy. nicolas.ruesch@uniklinik-freiburg.de
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Rüsch
authors.forename: Ilaria
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Spoletini
authors.forename: Marko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wilke
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Martinotti
authors.forename: Pietro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bria
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Trequattrini
authors.forename: Giuseppina
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bonaviri
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Caltagirone
authors.forename: Gianfranco
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Spalletta
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*