title: Anatomical abnormalities in gray and white matter of the cortical surface in persons with schizophrenia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Although schizophrenia has been associated with abnormalities in brain anatomy, imaging studies have not fully determined the nature and relative contributions of gray matter (GM) and white matter (WM) disturbances underlying these findings. We sought to determine the pattern and distribution of these GM and WM abnormalities. Furthermore, we aimed to clarify the contribution of abnormalities in cortical thickness and cortical surface area to the reduced GM volumes reported in schizophrenia.
  
  
  METHODS
  We recruited 76 persons with schizophrenia and 57 healthy controls from the community and obtained measures of cortical and WM surface areas, of local volumes along the brain and WM surfaces, and of cortical thickness.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We detected reduced local volumes in patients along corresponding locations of the brain and WM surfaces in addition to bilateral greater thickness of perisylvian cortices and thinner cortex in the superior frontal and cingulate gyri. Total cortical and WM surface areas were reduced. Patients with worse performance on the serial-position task, a measure of working memory, had a higher burden of WM abnormalities.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Reduced local volumes along the surface of the brain mirrored the locations of abnormalities along the surface of the underlying WM, rather than of abnormalities of cortical thickness. Moreover, anatomical features of white matter, but not cortical thickness, correlated with measures of working memory. We propose that reductions in WM and smaller total cortical surface area could be central anatomical abnormalities in schizophrenia, driving, at least partially, the reduced regional GM volumes often observed in this illness.
authors: Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, The New York State Psychiatric Institute, Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York, United States of America. tc2237@columbia.edu
authors: Tiziano
authors: T
authors: Colibazzi
authors: Bruce E
authors: BE
authors: Wexler
authors: Ravi
authors: R
authors: Bansal
authors: Xuejun
authors: X
authors: Hao
authors: Jun
authors: J
authors: Liu
authors: Juan
authors: J
authors: Sanchez-Peña
authors: Cheryl
authors: C
authors: Corcoran
authors: Jeffrey A
authors: JA
authors: Lieberman
authors: Bradley S
authors: BS
authors: Peterson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term; D008875:Middle Aged; D009413:Nerve Fibers, Myelinated / Q000473:pathology*; D036421:Nerve Fibers, Unmyelinated / Q000473:pathology*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000473:pathology*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology