White Matter Abnormalities in First-Episode Schizophrenia or Schizoaffective Disorder: A Diffusion Tensor Imaging Study

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Abstract
OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study was to investigate brain white matter abnormalities by using diffusion tensor imaging in patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder close to illness onset. METHOD: Ten patients experiencing a first episode of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder and 13 healthy volunteers received diffusion tensor imaging and structural magnetic resonance imaging examinations. Voxel-wise analysis was used to compare fractional anisotropy maps in the white matter of the two groups following intersubject registration to Talairach space. RESULTS: Compared with healthy volunteers, patients demonstrated lower fractional anisotropy in the left internal capsule and left-hemisphere white matter of the middle frontal gyrus and posterior superior temporal gyrus. There were no areas of significantly higher fractional anisotropy in patients compared with healthy volunteers. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that white matter pathology is present early in the course of schizophrenia...