Abstract
Background: Auditory verbal hallucinations (AVHs) are a characteristic feature of
schizophrenia. Patients with schizophrenia have been found to have reduced volumes
of a variety of brain structures as well as a reduction in right–left asymmetries,
using postmortem and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measures. There is also evidence
that patients with AVHs differ in these structural asymmetries, relative to those
patients who do not hallucinate. The aim of this study was to examine whether patients
with and without a prominent history of AVHs differ, both from each other and in comparison
with normal subjects, in the asymmetry of the sylvian fissure (SF) and planum temporale
(PT).
Methods: We recruited 74 DSM-IV male patients with schizophrenia (on the basis of
their AVH history) and 32 matched normal control subjects. Thirty patients had no
history of AVHs and 44 had a strong definitive history of AVHs. The SF length and
PT area and volume were measured on a three-dimensional MRI spoiled GRASS volume sequence.
Absolute measures and laterality coefficients were calculated.
Results: All groups had the normal leftward asymmetry in both the SF and PT. Planum
temporale volume and surface area and SF length were all larger in the left hemisphere.
There were no significant differences in any measures between the two patient groups
or between schizophrenic patients and control subjects. Greater leftward asymmetry
of the SF correlated with hallucinations and thought disorder within the prominent
hallucinator group. An association was found between handedness and brain size, but
this did not interact with diagnosis.
Conclusions: The results of this study do not confirm reports, based on smaller samples,
of reduced structural asymmetries of either the SF or PT in schizophrenia, nor do
they indicate a specific relationship to a propensity to experience AVHs. A modest
correlation between leftward asymmetry of the SF and some positive symptomatology
was found.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
July 20,
2000
Received in revised form:
July 14,
2000
Received:
March 20,
2000
Identification
Copyright
© 2001 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
