The Magnetic Resonance Imaging Research Of Chronic Schizophrenia Brain Grey Density And White Matter

Objective:Using voxel-based-morphometry techniques in MRI, and diffusion tensor imaging(DTI) techniques to dectect brain gray matter density and white matter fiber integrity changes in Schizophrenia, in order to explore brain structural changes in patients with Schizophrenia.Methods:Fifteen male adult with Schizophrenia and fifteen age and gender-matched healthy controls were collected for general demography information and administrated using the Scale for Assessment of Positive Symptoms (SAPS), the Scale for Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS), Wisconsin Card Sorting Test(WCST). MRI scan was obtained ordering to 3D, DTI and we want to find the difference of white matter integrity and gray matter density between Schizophrenia patients and healthy control subjects. Fifteen patients and fifteen age,gender and educational level-matched healthy controls finished MRI scan. Some data were excluded because of head movement. Data could be analysed finally including 14 patients and 15 controls in 3D;14 patients and 15 controls in DTI.Result:In geberal information, the score of SANS was significant higher than the score of SAPS (p<0.05) in patient group. The total trails, the number of response errors and preseverative errors in Schizophrenia group were significant higher than those in control group(p<0.05). And there were no significant difference of the number of correct responses, the number of categories between patient group and comparison group. Schizophrenia patients showed significant lower gray matter density than healthy controls in right superior frontal gyrus, left middle frontal gyrus and left medial frontal gyrus, right cuneus, left middle temporal gyrus. We didn't find any higher-gray-matter-density region in patient group than that in control group. Compared with control group, Schizophrenia patients exhibited significant decreased fractional anisotropy (FA) values in right middle frontal gyrus, right inferior frontal gyrus, right superior temporal gyrus, left sub-temporal gyrus, left middle temporal gyrus, left cingulate gyrus, left precentral gyrus. We didn't find any higher-FA-value region in patient group than that in control group.Conclusions:1.Chronic male schizophrenic patients with predominant nagative symptoms showed lower frontal exclutive function.2.Gray matter and the white matter abnormalities in the frontal region may be one of the mechanisms of pathophysiology in the damagedexecutive function of frontal lobe in patients with schizophrenia.3. Brain functional MRI is an effective tool to examine the brain stmcture.