Comprehensive segmentation of subcortical brain volumes in early onset schizophrenia reveals limited structural abnormalities.
Structural brain abnormalities are well documented in adult schizophrenia, but there are few studies of brain structures in early onset schizophrenia (EOS) and findings are inconsistent. Most previous EOS studies have been limited to global morphometric measures, such as whole gray matter (GM) or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), or to single brain structures. The purpose of this study was to compare specific volumes and hemispheric lateralization in a large number of subcortical brain structures, between EOS patients and a healthy control group. High-resolution structural magnetic resonance images (MRI) and automatic brain volume segmentation were performed on 18 EOS patients and 33 healthy controls (11-18 years). A total of 29 brain structures were studied. The patients showed marked bilateral enlargements of the lateral ventricles and of the fourth ventricle, and bilateral enlargement of the caudate nuclei compared to the controls. For all other subcortical brain structures, there were no significant differences between the EOS group and the healthy control group, contrary to findings from the majority of morphometric studies of childhood or adult onset schizophrenia.
Research Unit for Child and Adolescent Mental Health, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway. juuhllangseth@gmail.com
Monica
M
Juuhl-Langseth
Lars M
LM
Rimol
Inge A
IA
Rasmussen
Rune
R
Thormodsen
Aina
A
Holmén
Kyrre E
KE
Emblem
Paulina
P
Due-Tønnessen
Bjørn Rishovd
BR
Rund
Ingrid
I
Agartz
D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002421:Caudate Nucleus / Q000473:pathology*; D002552:Cerebral Ventricles / Q000473:pathology*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009929:Organ Size; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000473:pathology; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000473:pathology*