Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Insight and regional brain volumes in schizophrenia

  • ORIGINAL PAPER
  • Published:
European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

We have investigated the relationship between insight impairment and regional brain volumes (gray and white matter) in schizophrenia using voxel-based morphometry (VBM). Fifty patients with schizophrenia were evaluated using the Scale for Unawareness of Mental Disorders. Magnetic resonance images were acquired, segmented and spatially normalized using optimized VBM routines. No significant inverse correlations were detected between insight impairment and gray or white matter volumes in the prefrontal region (where significant findings had been predicted a priori), or in any other brain areas. Our results do not support previous hypotheses suggesting a relationship between frontal lobe atrophy and impaired insight in patients with schizophrenia.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Amador X, David A (eds) (2004) Insight and Psychosis: awareness of illness in schizophrenia and related disorders. 2nd Ed. Oxford University Press, London

    Google Scholar 

  2. Ballmaier M, Toga AW, Blanton RE, Sowell ER, Lavretsky H, Peterson J, Pham D, Kumar A (2004) Anterior cingulate, gyrus rectus, and orbitofrontal abnormalities in elderly depressed patients: an MRI-based parcellation of the prefrontal cortex. Am J Psychiat 161:99–108

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Bookstein FL (2001) Voxel-based morphometry should not be used with imperfectly registered images. Neuroimage 14:1454–1462

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Brett M, Jonhsrude IS, Owen AM (2002) The problem of functional localization in the human brain. Nat Rev Neurosci 3:243–249

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. David A, VanOs J, Jones P, Harvey I, Foester A, Fahy T (1995) Insight and psychotic illness: cross-sectional and longitudinal associations. Br J Psychiatry 167:621–628

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Drake RJ, Lewis W (2003) Insight and neurocognitive deficits in schizophrenia. Schizophr Res 62:165–173

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Flashman LA, McAllister TW, Andreasen NC, Saykin AJ (2000) Smaller brain size associated with unawareness of illness in patients with schizophrenia. Am J Psychiat 157:1167–1169

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Flashman LA, McAllister TW, Johnson SC, Rick JH, Green RL, Saykin AJ (2001) Specific frontal lobe subregions correlated with unawareness of illness in schizophrenia: a preliminary study. J Neuropsychiat Clin Neurosci 13:255–257

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Friston KJ, Holmes A, Poline JB, Price CJ, Frith CD (1996) Detecting activations in PET and fMRI: levels of inference and power. Neuroimage 4:223–235

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Good CD, Johnsrude IS, Ashburner J, Henson RN, Friston KJ, Frackowiak RS (2001) A voxel-based morphometric study of ageing in 465 normal adult human brains. Neuroimage 14:21–36

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Kirkbride JB, Fearon P, Morgan C, Dazzan P, Morgan K, Tarrant J, Lloyd T, Holloway J, Hutchinson G, Leff JP, Mallett RM, Harrison GL, Murray RM, Jones PB (2006) Heterogeneity in incidence rates of schizophrenia and other psychotic syndromes: findings from the 3-center AeSOP study. Arch Gen Psychiat 63:250–258

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Larøoi F, Fannemel M, Røonneberg U, Flekkøoy K, Opjordsmoen S, Dullerud R, Haakosen M (2000) Unawareness of illness in chronic schizophrenia and its relationship to structural brain measures and neuropsychological tests. Psychiat Res: Neuroimag Sect 100:49–58

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Lysaker P, Lancaster MS, Davis LW, Clements CA (2003) Patterns of neurocognitive deficits and unawareness of illness in schizophrenia. J Nerv Ment Dis 191:38–44

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Lysaker PH, Bell MD, Bryson GJ, Kaplan E (1998) Insight and interpersonal function in schizophrenia. J Nerv Ment Dis 186:432–436

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. McCormick L, Decker L, Nopoulos P, Ho BC, Andreasen N (2005) Effects of atypical and typical neuroleptics on anterior cingulate volume in schizophrenia. Schizophr Res 80:73–84

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Mintz AR, Dobson KS, Romney DM (2003) Insight in schizophrenia: a meta-analysis. Schizophr Res 61:75–88

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Moorhead TW, Job DE, Whalley HC, Sanderson TL, Johnstone EC, Lawrie SM (2004) Voxel-based morphometry of comorbid schizophrenia and learning disability: analyses in normalized and native spaces using parametric and nonparametric statistical methods. Neuroimage 22:188–202

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Rossel SL, Coakes J, Shapleske J, Woodruff PWR, David AS (2003) Insight: its relationship with cognitive function, brain volume and symptoms in schizophrenia. Psychol Med 33:111–119

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Shad MU, Muddasani S, Prasad K, Sweeney JA, Keshavan MS (2004) Insight and prefrontal cortex in first-episode Schizophrenia. Neuroimage 22:1315–1320

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Smith TE, Hull JW, Israel LM, Willson DF (2000) Insight, symptoms, and neurocognition in schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder. Schizophr Bull 26:193–200

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Tailarach J, Tounoux P (1988) Co-planar stereotaxic atals of the human brain. George Thieme Verlag, New York

    Google Scholar 

  22. Takai A, Uematsu M, Ueki H, Sone K, Kaiya H (1992) Insight and its related factors in chronic schizophrenic patients: a preliminary study. Eur J Psychiat 6:159–17

    Google Scholar 

  23. Tzourio-Mazoyer N, De Schonen S, Crivello F, Reutter B, Aujard Y, Mazoyer B (2002) Neural correlates of woman face processing by 2-month-old infants. Neuroimage 15:454–61

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Zald DH, Kim SW (1996) Anatomy and function of the orbital frontal cortex, I: anatomy, neurocircuitry; and obsessive-compulsive disorder. J Neuropsychiat Clin Neurosci 8(2):125–38

    CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We thank Fabio L.S. Duran and Luciana C. Santos for help in processing the images using Statistic Parametric Mapping. This work was supported by the “Fundação de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo”, Brazil (FAPESP – Grant Number 01/11357-0).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Psychiatry, University of São Paulo, School of Medicine, Rua Dr. Ovídio Pires de Campos, 785, 3° andar, sala 09, São Paulo-S.P., CEP 05403-010, São Paulo, Brazil

    Débora Pastore Bassitt, Mario Rodrigues Louzã Neto & Geraldo F. Busatto

  2. Magnetic Ressonance Imaging Section, Heart Institute, University of São Paulo, School of Medicine, Av. Dr. Enéas de Carvalho Aguiar 44, São Paulo–S.P., CEP 05403-000, São Paulo, Brazil

    Cláudio Campi de Castro

Authors
  1. Débora Pastore Bassitt
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Mario Rodrigues Louzã Neto
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Cláudio Campi de Castro
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Geraldo F. Busatto
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Débora Pastore Bassitt.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Bassitt, D.P., Neto, M.R.L., de Castro, C.C. et al. Insight and regional brain volumes in schizophrenia. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 257, 58–62 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00406-006-0685-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00406-006-0685-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation