Kiyoto Kasai

Subcortical structures, which include the basal ganglia and parts of the limbic system, have key roles in learning, motor control and emotion, but also contribute to higher-order executive functions. Prior studies have reported volumetric alterations in subcortical regions in schizophrenia. Reported results have sometimes been heterogeneous, and few large-scale investigations have been conducted. Moreover, few large-scale studies have assessed asymmetries of subcortical volumes in schizophrenia.

These findings demonstrate a progressive volume reduction of the left posterior superior temporal gyrus gray matter in patients with first-episode schizophrenia but not in patients with first-episode affective psychosis.

These findings demonstrate a left-biased progressive volume reduction in the Heschl gyrus and planum temporale gray matter in patients with first-episode schizophrenia in contrast to patients with first-episode affective psychosis and control subjects. Schizophrenia but not affective psychosis seems to be characterized by a postonset progression of neocortical gray matter volume loss in the left superior temporal gyrus and thus may not be developmentally fixed.

These partially different and partially similar patterns of structural abnormalities in olfactocentric paralimbic regions and their associated abnormalities in other temporolimbic regions may be important factors in the differential and common manifestations of the 2 psychoses.

These results demonstrate impaired frontotemporal cortical networks for preattentive detection of change in speech sounds in schizophrenia. The language-related dysfunction in schizophrenia may be present at the early stage of auditory processing of relatively simple stimuli, such as phonemes, and not just at stages involving higher-order semantic processes.