title: Correlation of reduced social communicational and interactional skills with regional grey matter volumes in schizophrenia patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Recent studies have detected similarities between autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia. We investigated structural abnormalities associated with autistic-like traits in patients with schizophrenia by voxel-based morphometry.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients with schizophrenia and healthy subjects were evaluated by the adult version of the social responsiveness scale (SRS-A), which is sensitive to autistic traits and symptoms even under subthreshold conditions, and magnetic resonance imaging.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were significant decreases in the anterior cingulate cortex, bilateral hippocampi, cerebellums, and right insula of patients with schizophrenia, compared with healthy subjects. We found significant negative correlations of the social communication and interaction (SCI) score, a subscale of SRS-A, with grey matter volume in the left posterior superior temporal region of schizophrenia patients. When subscales of SCI were examined separately in schizophrenic patients, negative correlations were observed between the social cognition score and the volumes of the left posterior superior temporal region, and between social motivation and the posterior cingulate cortex.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We found significant negative correlation between the SCI score and the grey matter volume in the left posterior superior temporal region of schizophrenia patients. This area was the region affected in previous studies of autistic spectrum disorders. Further, this area was associated with the theory of mind. Schizophrenia patients not necessarily show the impairment of SCI, nor this correlated region was not always the point with schizophrenia-specific change. However, we reveal the relationship between the left posterior superior temporal gyrus and the severity of the SCI in schizophrenia by using with SRS-A.
authors.affiliation: 1Department of Mental Disorder Research,National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry,National Institute of Neuroscience,Kodaira,Tokyo,Japan.
authors.forename: Miho
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ota
authors.affiliation: 1Department of Mental Disorder Research,National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry,National Institute of Neuroscience,Kodaira,Tokyo,Japan.
authors.forename: Junko
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Matsuo
authors.affiliation: 2Department of Radiology,National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry,Ogawa-Higashi,Kodaira,Tokyo,Japan.
authors.forename: Noriko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.affiliation: 1Department of Mental Disorder Research,National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry,National Institute of Neuroscience,Kodaira,Tokyo,Japan.
authors.forename: Toshiya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Teraishi
authors.affiliation: 1Department of Mental Disorder Research,National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry,National Institute of Neuroscience,Kodaira,Tokyo,Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hori
authors.affiliation: 1Department of Mental Disorder Research,National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry,National Institute of Neuroscience,Kodaira,Tokyo,Japan.
authors.forename: Kotaro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hattori
authors.affiliation: 3Department of Child and Adolescent Mental Health,National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry,Kodaira,Tokyo,Japan.
authors.forename: Yoko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kamio
authors.affiliation: 1Department of Mental Disorder Research,National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry,National Institute of Neuroscience,Kodaira,Tokyo,Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kunugi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D066128:Gray Matter / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D012919:Social Behavior; D000067404:Social Communication Disorder / Q000150:complications
keywords: autistic behaviour; magnetic resonance imaging; schizophrenia; social responsiveness scale for adults; volumetry