Structural abnormalities in schizophrenia: further evidence on the key role of the anterior cingulate cortex.
OBJECTIVE
The present study examined whole-brain structural abnormalities in schizophrenia, with a special focus on the anterior and posterior cingulate cortex (ACC, PCC) as this is an understudied issue in schizophrenia.


METHODS
Whole-brain voxel-based morphometry analyses of gray matter (GM) and white matter (WM) were performed to detect volumetric differences between 14 patients with schizophrenia and 14 healthy controls matched for age, sex, educational level and parents' educational level. We examined within-group GM and WM correlations and completed the analysis with measurements of sulci in medial cortical areas.


RESULTS
Compared with the healthy controls, the schizophrenic patients showed significant decreases in GM volumes in the ACC and PCC, and in neighboring WM regions such as the corpus callosum and the fimbriae of the fornix. Moreover, the patient group also displayed a negative correlation between volumes of GM and WM in the ACC. Finally, the patients showed significantly reduced volumes in the right cingulate sulci and left inferior frontal sulci.


CONCLUSIONS
Our results replicate typical brain-structural abnormalities with new findings in the medial prefrontal cortex, suggested to be a key region in this disorder.
FIDMAG Hermanas Hospitalarias Research Foundation, Sant Boi de Llobregat and CIBERSAM, Barcelona, Spain.
P
P
Salgado-Pineda
R
R
Landin-Romero
E
E
Fakra
P
P
Delaveau
B L
BL
Amann
O
O
Blin
D000328:Adult; D001284:Atrophy / Q000473:pathology; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D066128:Gray Matter / Q000473:pathology*; D006179:Gyrus Cinguli / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D059906:Neuroimaging; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000473:pathology*; D066127:White Matter / Q000473:pathology*; D055815:Young Adult