Magnetic resonance imaging studies of the brains of schizophrenic patients.

Magnetic resonance imaging studies of the brains of schizophrenic and control subjects were performed using a 0.3 Tesla superconducting magnet. Quantitative measurements of ventricular size, sulcal width, and standardized image intensity were performed. There were no significant differences between schizophrenic and comparison subjects for linear or area measures related to ventricular size, corpus collusum size, or cortical atrophy. However, schizophrenics had a significantly higher image intensity in the inversion recovery mode (IR-30). Since the IR-30 images are T1 weighted, this suggests that there may be differences in T1 relaxation times in tissues in some areas of the brains of schizophrenics as compared to controls. However, more precise measurements of T1 relaxation time are needed to confirm this finding.