Reduced temporal lobe areas in schizophrenia: preliminary evidences from a controlled multiplanar magnetic resonance imaging study.

Seventeen young patients with relapsing schizophrenia and 13 normal controls matched for age, gender, and educational level underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. Three sagittal, eight axial, and seven coronal images were obtained for all subjects. Schizophrenic patients showed a reduction of brain tissue in the temporal lobes. Among the several brain structures identified, left temporal lobe area, but not ventricular brain ratio (VBR), discriminated between the two groups. As VBR has been reported to be increased in the more severe forms of schizophrenia, temporal lobe abnormalities may characterize the less severe cases of schizophrenia.