Brain Morphology and Schizophrenia: A Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study of Limbic, Prefrontal Cortex, and Caudate Structures
Abstract
We used magnetic resonance imaging to examine the morphologic characteristics of the amygdala/hippocampus, prefrontal cortex, and caudate nucleus in 29 healthy volunteers matched for age, gender, and head of household socioeconomic status and 44 patients with chronic schizophrenia. Total volumes of these structures were determined from 3-mm contiguous coronal sections. Schizophrenic patients, compared with healthy controls, had significantly smaller right and left amygdala/hippocampal complex volumes, smaller right and left prefrontal volumes, and larger left caudate volumes. A secondary analysis revealed reductions in the right and left amygdala and the left hippocampus. In addition, prefrontal white matter, but not gray matter, was reduced in the schizophrenic patients. Moreover, the right white matter volume in schizophrenic patients was significantly related to right amygdala/hippocampal volume (r = .39), data that provide preliminary support for a hypothesis of abnormal limbic-cortical connection in schizophrenia. We studied the implications of these data for the pathophysiology of schizophrenia.
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Clinical imaging studies have demonstrated robust structural and functional deficits in the PFC across a range of disorders including depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, OCD, schizophrenia, PTSD, alcohol abuse disorder, and substance abuse disorder.
“Clinical imaging studies have confirmed the results of these studies, demonstrating robust structural and functional deficits in the PFC across a range of disorders including depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), schizophrenia, PTSD, alcohol abuse disorder, and substance abuse disorder (84–103).”
From Psychedelics and Other Psychoplastogens for Treating Mental Illness. (2021) · cites this paper as [85]
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- Authors
- Breier, A.
- Affiliations
- University of Maryland, Baltimore (US)
- Corresponding author
- Breier, Alan
- Venue
- Archives of General Psychiatry
- Publisher
- American Medical Association (AMA)
- Published
- 1992-12-01
- Volume
- 49
- Issue
- 12
- Pages
- 921
- ISSN
- 0003-990X (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2107150572
- Cited by
- 513
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 16 · 2014: 13 · 2013: 6 · 2012: 6
- FWCI
- 21.55
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Archives of General Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute of Mental Health (MH40279, MH45074, R01MH045074)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Schizophrenia research and treatment
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Philosophy › Mental Health and Psychiatry
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
- Keywords
- schizophrenia, brain structure, amygdala, hippocampus, prefrontal cortex, caudate nucleus, brain volume, white matter, gray matter, schizophrenia pathophysiology
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Ambulatory Care, Amygdala, Caudate Nucleus, Chronic Disease, Female, Frontal Lobe, Hippocampus, Humans, Functional Laterality, Limbic System, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Models, Neurological, Schizophrenia
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