Measurement of Corpus Callosal Area in Schizophrenic Patients Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Park, Hong Seok; Lee, Jeong Seop; Hwang, Seong Hye; Kim, Chang Hyun

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: This study was performed to determine whether the corpus callosum is involved in pathophysiology of schizophrenia and measured corpus callosal areas of first episode, chronic schizophrenic patients and controls.
METHODS
We obtained the brain magnetic resonance imaging of 23 schizophrenic inpatients(15 males, 8 females)and 23 controls(11 males, 12 females)with simple headache or dizziness. Among the schizophrenic group, first episode patients were 13, chronic patients were 10. In mid-sagittal plane, the corpus callosum was divided into 7 areas and the cerebral area was measured. This data was analyzed with NIH image 1.60 software. We compared the corpus callosal areas of schizophrenics with controls by t-test and by ANOVA according to sex. Thereafter, ANCOVA was performed with mid-sagittal cerebral area as covariant. Comparison of first episode, chronic schizophrenics and controls was carried out by MANCOVA that was adjusted with age and mid-sagittal cerebral area.
RESULTS
The schizophrenics, compared with controls, had smaller corpus callosal areas except for the 3rd, 6th callosal area, but statistical significance was absent. According to sex, male schizophrenics had insignificantly smaller total callosal areas than male controls and female schizophrenics had larger ones. In comparision of first episode, chronic schizophrenic patients and controls, first episode patients had smaller every corpus callosal areas than chronic ones, chronic ones had larger total callosal area than controls and first episode ones had smaller total area than controls, but statistical significances were absent also.
CONCLUSION
Our study did not reveal the structural abnormality of corpus callosum in schizophrenic patients, but many controversial results have been reported in other studies. This inter-study inconsistency could be explained by the hypotheses of not only clinical but also biological different phenotypes within the schizophrenia.