Background
Magnetic resonance imaging studies have shown that structural brain abnormalities
are present in both schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Most previous studies have
focused on brain tissue volumes, but advances in neuroimaging data processing have
made it possible to separate cortical area and cortical thickness. The purpose of
the present study was to provide a more complete picture of cortical morphometric
differences in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, decomposing cortical volume into
its constituent parts, cortical thickness and cortical area.
Methods
We analyzed magnetic resonance imaging images from a sample of 173 patients with schizophrenia,
139 patients with bipolar disorder, and 207 healthy control subjects. Maps of cortical
volume, area, and thickness across the continuous cortical surface were generated
within groups and compared between the groups.
Results
There were widespread reductions in cortical volume in schizophrenia relative to healthy
control subjects and patients with bipolar disorder type I. These reductions were
mainly driven by cortical thinning, but there were also cortical area reductions in
more circumscribed regions, which contributed to the observed volume reductions.
Conclusions
The current surface-based methodology allows for a distinction between cortical thinning
and reduction in cortical area and reveals that cortical thinning is the most important
factor in volume reduction in schizophrenia. Cortical area reduction was not observed
in bipolar disorder type I and may be unique to schizophrenia.
Key Words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: January 27, 2012
Accepted:
November 22,
2011
Received in revised form:
November 22,
2011
Received:
February 20,
2011
Identification
Copyright
© 2012 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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- ErrataBiological PsychiatryVol. 71Issue 7
- PreviewAn error has been discovered in “Cortical Volume, Surface Area, and Thickness in Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder” by Rimol et al. which appeared in Biological Psychiatry (2012;71:552-560). The authors would like to correct two inaccurate references that were provided in the third paragraph of the Introduction. The following text has the correct references:
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