The Volumetric Differences of the Fronto-Temporal Region in Young Offspring of Schizophrenic Patients

Şişmanlar, Ş., Anik, Y., Coşkun, A., Ağaoğlu, B., Karakaya, I., & Yavuz, C. (2010). The volumetric differences of the fronto-temporal region in young offspring of schizophrenic patients. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 19(2), 151-157. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. doi:10.1007/s00787-009-0052-5

Chapter 16 in our textbook gives an overview of several of the psychological disorders.  One of those in which I have taken particular interest in is schizophrenia.  Schizophrenia is a psychotic disorder that is characterized by hallucinations, delusions, inappropriate emotional responses, and disorganized speech.  Many MRI studies have been done on individuals with schizophrenia, and they have all shown abnormalities in various parts of the brain.  One of the abnormalities is volumetric differences in the temporal lobe, superior temporal gyrus, and structures of the medial temporal lobe (i.e. hippocampus, amygdala, and the parahippocampal gyrus).  The main risk factor that contributes to the onset of schizophrenia is genetics.  According to this article, the risk of developing schizophrenia is 50% more likely if both parents are affected.  The purpose of this study was to see if brain abnormalities in schizophrenics would also be found in their offspring.  Twenty-six offspring ages 8 to 15 from schizophrenic parents were in the experimental group, or the “HR Group” as referred to in this study.  Twenty-three offspring from healthy parents were in the control group.  Both groups were given the WISC-R to evaluate their IQ and were also evaluated with cranial MRI.  Volumes in the following brain areas were measured and compared: hippocampus, thalamus, amygdala, corpus callosum, frontal lobe, and temporal lobe.  Results of this study showed that there was a significant reduction in the corpus callosum and hippocampus measurements in the offspring of schizophrenic patients, as well as smaller right and left temporal lobes for individuals in this HR Group.  The findings of this study suggest that there is a neurodevelopmental abnormality in individuals whose parents have been diagnosed with schizophrenia, which corresponds to the findings of previous researchers.  This means that genetics plays a major role in the risk of developing schizophrenia.  Because this connection between genetics and schizophrenia has been established, individuals can be diagnosed earlier, which will allow them to seek treatment before the disorder becomes too severe.