Heckers S, Heinsen H, Geiger B, Beckmann H
Department of Psychiatry, University of Würzburg, Federal Republic of Germany.
Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1991 Nov;48(11):1002-8. doi: 10.1001/archpsyc.1991.01810350042006.
Neuropathologic and neuroradiologic studies have reported hippocampal abnormalities in schizophrenics. We estimated the total number of neurons in the hippocampus of schizophrenics and controls to elucidate the neuronal basis of such changes. Thirteen brains of schizophrenics and 13 control brains closely matched for sex and age were studied. A new stereological method was applied to serial coronal sections through the whole hippocampus. Total hippocampal volume was reduced in the schizophrenic sample, more pronounced on the left side, but mean differences were not significant. The volumes of the pyramidal cell layer in the four subdivisions subiculum and cornu Ammonis sectors CA 1, CA 2/3, and CA 4 were almost identical in both groups. Schizophrenics did not differ from controls with regard to nerve cell density in any of the four subdivisions. The estimates of the total number of neurons in the hippocampal subdivisions were not different between schizophrenics and controls. The data do not support the hypothesis that hippocampal abnormalities are caused by neuronal cell loss. However, they are consistent with the suggestion that white matter changes in the hippocampus may play a role in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia.
神经病理学和神经放射学研究报告了精神分裂症患者海马体存在异常。我们估算了精神分裂症患者和对照组海马体中的神经元总数，以阐明此类变化的神经学基础。研究了13例精神分裂症患者的大脑和13例在性别和年龄上严格匹配的对照大脑。一种新的体视学方法应用于贯穿整个海马体的系列冠状切片。精神分裂症样本中海马体总体积减小，左侧更为明显，但平均差异不显著。在两组中，海马旁回和海马结构CA1、CA2/3及CA4区四个亚区的锥体细胞层体积几乎相同。在四个亚区中的任何一个，精神分裂症患者与对照组在神经细胞密度方面均无差异。精神分裂症患者和对照组海马体亚区的神经元总数估算值并无差异。这些数据不支持海马体异常是由神经元细胞丢失所致的假说。然而，它们与海马体白质变化可能在精神分裂症发病机制中起作用的观点一致。
