P0375 - Volume reduction of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in schizophrenia: A high resolution imaging study

Abstract

The term “deficit syndrome” (DS) refers to a diagnostic subtype of schizophrenia characterized by the presence of primary and enduring negative symptoms. Several authors have supported the hypothesis that DS represents the more severe end of the schizophrenia spectrum; however, the empirical evidence did not clarify this interpretation. The present study is aimed to evaluate neuromorphological abnormalities in Deficit (DS) and Nondeficit Schizophrenia (NDS). We investigated a group of 18 patients with a DSM-IV diagnosis of schizophrenia, categorized as DS (N=10) and NDS (N=8), and 8 matched healthy controls. All subjects underwent a high resolution imaging protocol (MPRAGE) and an extensive psychopathological evaluation. Images were segmented by means of the algorithm implemented within the SPM2 software; quantitative measures of gray matter were manually obtained for hippocampal and dorso-lateral prefrontal (DLPF) regions. Gray matter in DLPF cortex was significantly reduced in the NDS group, with respect to both DS and healthy subjects. ANCOVA analyses revealed that the volumetric abnormalities found in DS vs. NDS patients were not related to dose or type of antipsychotic treatment. Our structural neuroimaging findings in subjects with schizophrenia, revealed significant differences between the DS and NDS subtypes, which were not influenced by antipsychotic medication, and suggested that DS does not simply represent the more severe end of the schizophrenia spectrum.