Hippocampal volume in first-episode psychoses and chronic schizophrenia: A high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging study

Abstract

Background: It has been proposed that the hippocampus is a potential site for a neurodevelopmental lesion in schizophrenia. While smaller hippocampal volumes have been described in chronic schizophrenia, there have been few magnetic resonance imaging studies in first-episode psychosis. Furthermore, no studies have examined the specificity of this finding to first-episode schizophrenia, compared with first-episode affective psychosis. Methods: Hippocampal and whole-brain volumes were estimated using high- resolution magnetic resonance imaging in 140 controls, 46 patients with chronic schizophrenia, and 32 patients with first-episode psychosis. Results: Patients with chronic schizophrenia and ..