A volumetric magnetic resonance imaging study of monozygotic twins discordant for bipolar disorder.

Six monozygotic (MZ) twin pairs discordant for bipolar disorder were compared with normal MZ twins with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) on volumes of basal ganglia (BG), amygdala-hippocampus (AH), and cerebral hemisphere. Caudate nuclei were larger in both affected and unaffected bipolar twins than in normal MZ twins. The right hippocampus was smaller in the sick vs.

Gender differences in temporal lobe structures of patients with schizophrenia: a volumetric MRI study.

Objective: The temporal lobe and associated structures have been previously implicated in the neuroanatomy of schizophrenia. This study was designed to assess the potential influence of gender on the morphology of temporal lobe structures, including the superior temporal gyrus and the amygdala/hippocampal complex, in patients with schizophrenia and to examine whether schizophrenic patients differ morphologically in these structures from comparison subjects.

Method: Magnetic resonance imaging was used to measure the volume of temporal lobe structures, including the superior temporal gyrus, the amygdala/hippocampal complex, and the temporal lobe (excluding the volumes of the superior temporal gyrus and amygdala/hippocampal complex), and two comparison areas--the prefrontal cortex and caudate--in 36 male and 23 female patients with schizophrenia and 19 male and 18 female comparison subjects.

Structural evaluation of the prefrontal cortex in schizophrenia.

Objective: Altered prefrontal cortical function has been repeatedly implicated in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. Attempts to determine whether this altered function is associated with structural changes in the prefrontal cortex have been hampered by the failure to examine more anatomically and functionally homogeneous regions. The authors have developed a reliable set of anatomical landmarks for subdividing the prefrontal cortex into superior, middle, inferior, and orbital regions, in order to determine whether patients with schizophrenia exhibit selective morphological abnormalities of the prefrontal cortex.