Am J Psychiatry 1994; 151:1448-1452
Copyright © 1994 by American Psychiatric Association
Magnetic resonance imaging measurement of posterior fossa structures in schizophrenia
EH Aylward, A Reiss, PE Barta, A Tien, W Han, J Lee and GD Pearlson
Department of Psychiatry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287-7362.
OBJECTIVE: Previous research has yielded conflicting results regarding the
hypothesis that structural abnormalities of the cerebellar vermis and other
posterior fossa structures are associated with schizophrenia. The purpose
of this study was to apply techniques of measuring posterior fossa
structures from magnetic resonance imaging scans that have proven reliable
in identifying structural abnormalities in other patient populations.
METHOD: Midsagittal areas of cerebellar vermis and its subsections
(anterior vermis, lobules VI-VII, and lobules VIII-X), brainstem (pons,
medulla, and midbrain), and fourth ventricle, as well as intracranial area
and cortical area, were measured. Subjects included 36 schizophrenic
patients and 51 normal comparison subjects. Groups were matched on age,
sex, race, and family socioeconomic status. RESULTS: No significant group
differences were detected for any posterior fossa structure. When corrected
for intracranial area, fourth ventricle area was significantly larger in
patients than in the comparison group. Fourth ventricle area was not,
however, correlated with any measures of symptom severity. CONCLUSIONS: The
size of posterior fossa structures is not abnormal in schizophrenia.
