Subcortical and cortical gray matter differences between Kraepelinian and non-Kraepelinian schizophrenia patients identified using voxel-based morphometry

• Published in: Psychiatry research. Neuroimaging Vol. 184; no. 1; pp. 16 - 22
• Main Authors: Molina, Vicente, Hernández, Juan A, Sanz, Javier, Paniagua, Juan C, Hernández, Ana I, Martín, Carmen, Matías, Juan, Calama, Julia, Bote, Berta
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Ireland Elsevier Ireland Ltd 30.10.2010
• Subjects: Adult; Brain Mapping; Caudate; Cerebral Cortex - pathology; Female; Humans; Imaging, Three-Dimensional - methods; Kraepelinian; Longitudinal Studies; Magnetic Resonance Imaging - methods; Male; Middle Aged; Psychiatry; Putamen; Radiology; Schizophrenia; Schizophrenia - classification; Schizophrenia - pathology; Schizophrenia - physiopathology; Schizophrenic Psychology; Thalamus; Voxel-based morphometry; Schizophrenia; Thalamus; Caudate; Kraepelinian; Putamen; Voxel-based morphometry
• ISSN: 0925-4927; 1872-7506
• DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2010.06.006

Abstract The long-term outcome of schizophrenia patients may differ depending on their brain structure. This would be reflected in significant structural differences between poor-outcome (i.e., Kraepelinian) and non-Kraepelinian patients. To assess this possibility, we have evaluated the degree of deviation in brain structure in Kraepelinian patients with respect to controls and non-Kraepelinian schizophrenia patients. We used voxel-brain morphometry (VBM) to assess the differences in gray matter volume across the brain in the Kraepelinian group with respect to the healthy controls and non-Kraepelinian patients. Twenty-six Kraepelinian and 18 non-Kraepelinian schizophrenia patients and 41 healthy controls were included. With respect to the healthy controls, the Kraepelinian patients showed a very significant decrease in gray matter in the frontal, occipital, and limbic cortices, and, at a subcortical level, bilaterally in the striatum and thalamus. In comparison with the non-Kraepelinian patients, the Kraepelinian individuals continued to show a similar subcortical decrease. Thus, Kraepelinian patients may be characterized by a distinct pattern of brain abnormalities, in particular, in subcortical regions.