The corpus callosum in childhood onset schizophrenia

Corpus callosum size has been found to be abnormal in adult schizophrenia, and other studies have implicated abnormal interhemispheric communication in this disorder. To assess continuity with brain abnormalities in the later onset disorder and to further localize brain maldevelopment this structure was examined in a unique sample of childhood onset schizophrenics. Anatomic brain magnetic resonance imaging scans were acquired for 25 patients (mean age 13.9±2.1) who had onset of schizophrenia by age 12 (mean age at onset 9.9±1.9) and 55 normal children. The midsagittal area of the corpus callosum was divided into seven sections. With no adjustment for brain volume, no diagnostic differences were observed. After adjustment for the smaller cerebral volume of the schizophrenics, larger total, anterior and posterior corpus callosum areas emerged for the schizophrenics. Trends toward significant gender for diagnosis interactions suggested a greater effect ff males. These findings provide further evidence for continuity between childhood onset and later onset schizophrenia and support other studies showing white matter sparing in the context of decreased cortical volume.