An MRI Study of Superior Temporal Gyrus Volume in Women With Schizotypal Personality Disorder

• Published in: The American journal of psychiatry Vol. 160; no. 12; pp. 2198 - 2201
• Main Authors: Dickey, Chandlee C., McCarley, Robert W., Voglmaier, Martina M., Niznikiewicz, Margaret A., Seidman, Larry J., Demeo, Susan, Frumin, Melissa, Shenton, Martha E.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Psychiatric Publishing 01.12.2003; American Psychiatric Association
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Biological and medical sciences; Brain; Brain structure; Clinical trials; Dominance, Cerebral - physiology; Family histories; Female; Genetic Predisposition to Disease - genetics; Genetic Predisposition to Disease - psychology; Humans; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Mathematical Computing; Medical sciences; Mental health; Middle Aged; NMR; Nuclear magnetic resonance; Personality; Personality disorders; Psychiatric morbidity; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Reference Values; Schizophrenia; Schizophrenic Language; Schizotypal Personality Disorder - diagnosis; Schizotypal Personality Disorder - genetics; Schizotypal Personality Disorder - psychology; Schizotypal personality disorders; Sex Factors; Temporal Lobe - pathology; Women; Human; Volumetric analysis; Hemispheric specialization; Central nervous system; Cerebral convolution; Temporal cortex; Nuclear magnetic resonance imaging; Personality disorder; Encephalon; Family story; Symptomatology; Thought disorder; Schizotypal personality; Young adult; Mental disorder; Medical imagery; Adult; Female; Laterality; Comparative study
• ISSN: 0002-953X; 1535-7228
• DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.160.12.2198

OBJECTIVE: An abnormal superior temporal gyrus has figured prominently in schizophrenia research, and left superior temporal gyrus volume has been shown to be smaller in male subjects with schizotypal personality disorder. This is the first structural magnetic resonance imaging study to examine a group of female subjects with schizotypal personality disorder. METHOD: The superior temporal gyrus was drawn on coronal images acquired from female subjects recruited from the community (schizotypal personality disorder group: N=21, comparison group: N=29). RESULTS: There were no gray matter volume differences in the left or right superior temporal gyrus between the subjects with schizotypal personality disorder and the comparison subjects. Within the schizotypal personality disorder group, however, there was an interaction between hemisphere and family history of mental illness. Moreover, subjects with schizotypal personality disorder did demonstrate formal thought disorder and a negative correlation between left superior temporal gyrus volume and odd speech. CONCLUSIONS: This study of female subjects with schizotypal personality disorder showed no superior temporal gyrus volume differences, but preliminary findings indicate that among female subjects with schizotypal personality disorder, there is a left-right difference in those who have a family history of mental illness relative to those who do not. These data also suggest an association between abnormal speech and left superior temporal gyrus volume, a finding similar to that found in schizophrenia. Results from this study thus clearly reinforce the importance of studying female subjects separately.