Neuroanatomical Features of the Brain in Juvenile Shiftlike Schizophrenia: Morphometry of the Gray Matter of the Prefrontal Cortex and Subcortical Structures

Objectives. To identify the neuroanatomical characteristics of the gray matter in individual areas of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and a number of subcortical formations in patients with juvenile shiftlike schizophrenia (ICD-10, F20) Materials and methods. A total of 43 patients and 54 mentally healthy men, mean age 22 years, were studied. The main methods were psychopathological investigations and MRI brain scans producing high-resolution T1-weighted images. Results. As compared with the control group, the group of patients with schizophrenia showed a decrease in the thickness of the gray matter in all segments of the prefrontal cortex studied, though no between-group differences in the volume of the subcortical formations were seen. No statistically significant correlations between structural changes and measures of the severity of psychopathological disorders were found. Conclusions. The data obtained from these studies show that structural anomalies in the frontal areas of the brain in juvenile shiftlike schizophrenia are not linked with the severity of psychopathological symptoms.