Longitudinal MRI study of the midline brain regions in first-episode schizophrenia

This magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study investigated the prevalence and size of the adhesio interthalamica (AI) and cavum septi pellucidi (CSP) in 64 first-episode schizophrenia patients and 64 controls, of whom longitudinal data were available for 20 patients and 21 controls. The AI was shorter in the patients and showed longitudinal decline in both groups; there was also a trend for AI atrophy to correlate with negative symptoms. The CSP showed no group difference. These results suggest a role for the AI as a possible neurodevelopmental marker of schizophrenia.