J Korean Neuropsychiatr Assoc.
2011 Nov;50(6):450-457.
Thalamic Volumes in Patients with Untreated First-Episode Schizophrenia
- Affiliations
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- 1Department of Psychiatry, Inha University College of Medicine, Incheon, Korea. kmh4317@inha.ac.kr
- 2Kojungseon Neuropsychiatry, Incheon, Korea.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES
Thalamic structural changes were implicated in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia by some studies. So, we investigated the differences in thalamic volumes between previously untreated patients with first-episode schizophrenia and controls.
METHODS
Thalamic volumes of 24 subjects with schizophrenia and 24 controls were measured from their T1-weighted coronal magnetic resonance images using manual tracing. The thalamus was further segmented into regions that roughly reflected individual thalamic nuclei.
RESULTS
Comparing to the controls, significantly smaller volumes were found in the left posterior subdivision of thalamus in patient group. Tendency of volume differences were also seen in right posterior subdivision of thalamus in patient group. These regions primarily comprised the pulvinar, a thalamic nucleus thought to be an important component of aberrant circuitry in schizophrenia.
CONCLUSION
Our findings suggest the possibility of a volumetric alteration of the thalamus in patients with first-episode schizophrenia.
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