Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-8mjnm Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-29T05:23:14.914Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Morphological brain changes associated with Schneider's first-rank symptoms in schizophrenia: an MRI study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 November 2004

M. SUZUKI
Affiliation:
Department of Neuropsychiatry, Toyama Medical and Pharmaceutical University, Toyama, Japan
S.-Y. ZHOU
Affiliation:
Department of Neuropsychiatry, Toyama Medical and Pharmaceutical University, Toyama, Japan
H. HAGINO
Affiliation:
Department of Neuropsychiatry, Toyama Medical and Pharmaceutical University, Toyama, Japan
L. NIU
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Toyama Medical and Pharmaceutical University, Toyama, Japan
T. TAKAHASHI
Affiliation:
Department of Neuropsychiatry, Toyama Medical and Pharmaceutical University, Toyama, Japan
Y. KAWASAKI
Affiliation:
Department of Neuropsychiatry, Toyama Medical and Pharmaceutical University, Toyama, Japan
M. MATSUI
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Toyama Medical and Pharmaceutical University, Toyama, Japan
H. SETO
Affiliation:
Department of Radiology, Toyama Medical and Pharmaceutical University, Toyama, Japan
T. ONO
Affiliation:
Department of Physiology, Toyama Medical and Pharmaceutical University, Toyama, Japan
M. KURACHI
Affiliation:
Department of Neuropsychiatry, Toyama Medical and Pharmaceutical University, Toyama, Japan

Abstract

Background. Schneider's first-rank symptoms involve an alienated feature of the sense of one's own mental or physical activity. To clarify the brain morphological basis for the production of these symptoms, volumes of the frontal and medial temporal regions and their clinical correlates were examined in patients with schizophrenia.

Method. Twenty-two patients with schizophrenia and 44 age- and gender-matched healthy control subjects were included. All patients were in their psychotic episodes with definite Schneiderian symptoms, rated by using the Scale for Assessment of Positive Symptoms. Volumetric measurements of high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging were performed in the prefrontal area, cingulate gyrus, and precentral gyrus, and the medial temporal structures such as the amygdala, hippocampus, and parahippocampal gyrus.

Results. Patients had significantly decreased volumes in the cingulate gray matter and the amygdala compared to controls. In the patient group, Schneiderian symptom severity showed significant inverse correlations with volumes of the right posterior cingulate gray matter and of the left anterior parahippocampal gyrus.

Conclusions. Schneiderian symptoms may be associated with morphological abnormalities in the limbic-paralimbic regions such as the cingulate gyrus and parahippocampal gyrus, which possibly serve the self-monitoring function and the coherent storage and reactivation of information.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© 2004 Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)