Deficits in gray matter volume are present in schizophrenia but not bipolar disorder

• Published in: Schizophrenia research Vol. 26; no. 2; pp. 85 - 92
• Main Authors: Zipursky, Robert B, Seeman, Mary V, Bury, Alison, Langevin, Ronald, Wortzman, George, Katz, Randy
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 29.08.1997; Elsevier Science
• Subjects: Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Biological and medical sciences; Bipolar; Bipolar Disorder - diagnosis; Cerebral Cortex - abnormalities; Cerebral Cortex - physiopathology; Cerebral Ventricles - abnormalities; Female; Gray matter; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Psychoses; Schizophrenia; Schizophrenia - diagnosis; Schizophrenia - physiopathology; Schizophrenic Psychology; Ventricle; Schizophrenia; Bipolar; Ventricle; Magnetic resonance imaging; Gray matter; Human; Psychosis; Mood disorder; Volumetric analysis; Dilatation; Central nervous system; Bipolar disorder; Nuclear magnetic resonance imaging; Lateral cerebral ventricle; Comparative study; Brain (vertebrata)
• ISSN: 0920-9964; 1573-2509
• DOI: 10.1016/S0920-9964(97)00042-X

Studies using magnetic resonance (MR) imaging have provided strong evidence that patients with schizophrenia as a group have structural brain abnormalities, including enlarged ventricles and sulci as well as smaller cortical gray matter volumes. This study was undertaken to investigate whether the brain abnormalities found in schizophrenia could be distinguished from those seen in bipolar disorder. The MR scans of 23 patients with schizophrenia were compared to those of 17 healthy community volunteers and 14 patients with bipolar disorder. Images were processed using computer-based image processing techniques to generate quantitative measures of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), gray matter and white matter volumes. Compared to the community volunteers, the schizophrenia group had larger total CSF volumes while the bipolar group had larger lateral ventricles. Smaller cortical gray matter volumes were found in the schizophrenia group, but not in the bipolar group. The schizophrenia group had regional deficits in gray matter volumes in comparison with both the community volunteers and the bipolar group. These findings suggest that the brain tissue abnormalities found in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder may be distinguishable using MR imaging.