Abstract
In our study we compared the resting 18FDG uptake (PET) in a group of 67 patients with schizophrenia (37 males and 30 females) with a control group (N = 18, 10 males and 8 females). Both groups did not differ in demographic parameters.
In the schizophrenia sample we found increased 18FDG uptake in the left caudate head, middle temporal gyrus, paracentral lobule, parahippocampal gyrus, pons, postcentral gyrus, posterior cingulate, superior temporal gyrus, supramarginal gyrus, thalamus and uncus. On the right side the metabolism was increased in the cerebellum, pons, medial frontal gyrus, middle temporal gyrus, uncus, cuneus, insula, hippocampus, middle occipital gyrus and caudate tail.
In the group with schizophrenia the 18FDG uptake was decreased bilaterally only in the middle frontal gyrus (SPM99, p - 0.05, corrected). In a separate analysis we compared the subgroup of patients with schizophrenia without antipsychotic medication (N = 10) with the same control group.
We found a similar pattern of the 18FDG uptake but changes in the thalamus and basal ganglia were not detected in this subgroup. These data indicate regional brain dysfunction in the cerebellum, superior fronto-parietal region and temporo-limbic complex in patients with schizophrenia independent of medication