based on analyzing longitudinal brain MRIs from 12 COS patients and 12 healthy controls matched for age, gender and scan interval. COS patients showed up to 2.2% slower growth rates per year than healthy controls in WM (p=0.02, all p-values corrected), with greater effect sizes in the right hemisphere (p=0.006) (see Figure 5). Furthermore, as seen in prior studies of white matter growth (T. Paus et al., 2001) this process appeared to progress in a front-to-back (fronto-parietal) fashion and growth rates were correlated with functional prognosis. These findings suggest that the progressive GM deficits seen in schizophrenia are not likely to be the result of WM overgrowth, because WM growth is itself slowed down (Gogtay et al., 2008).
