Inferior frontal white matter volume and suicidality in schizophrenia

Psychiatry Res. 2008 Dec 30;164(3):206-14. doi: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2007.12.011. Epub 2008 Nov 13.

Abstract

The neurobiology of suicidality in schizophrenia is largely unknown. We therefore assessed gray and white matter volumes associated with past suicidality and current self-aggression in schizophrenia. Fifty-five outpatients with schizophrenia (n=55) and healthy controls (n=55), matched for age, gender and handedness, were recruited. Ten patients had a life-time history of one or more suicide attempts. Current self-aggression was assessed using the Modified Overt Aggression Scale. High resolution structural magnetic resonance images were analyzed by voxel-based morphometry. We found significantly larger inferior frontal white matter volumes bilaterally in patients with a previous suicide attempt as compared with those patients without a history of suicidality. No other significant white or gray matter volume differences were observed. White matter volume in these regions did not differ between healthy controls and those patients without a previous suicide attempt. Furthermore, among patients, the level of current self-aggression showed a significant positive correlation with white matter volume in the same regions. Inferior frontal white matter alterations in fronto-temporo-limbic circuits may be associated with suicidality and self-aggression in schizophrenia.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Cognition Disorders / diagnosis
  • Cognition Disorders / epidemiology
  • Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
  • Female
  • Frontal Lobe / anatomy & histology*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Neuropsychological Tests
  • Schizophrenia / epidemiology*
  • Schizophrenic Psychology*
  • Severity of Illness Index
  • Suicide, Attempted / psychology*
  • Suicide, Attempted / statistics & numerical data*