Chunk #22 — DIMENSIONS OF PSYCHOPATHOLOGY IN NEUROLEPTIC-NAÏVE PATIENTS WITH RECENT-ONSET SCHIZOPHRENIA — Corpus callosal area differences in predominantly positive symptom schizophrenia and its implications for temporal dysfunction
to controls. There was a significant effect of gender (F>M) on the area measures; however, there was no significant diagnosis X gender effect. Age, age of onset, duration of illness, and psychopathology ratings did not show any significant correlations with whole CC area and area of CC sub-regions. The finding of increased area of the anterior truncus that possibly comprises white fibers connecting the temporal association cortices[5960] could be indicative of an “abnormal functional hyperconnection”[61] involving these regions in positive symptom schizophrenia. This finding is in keeping with the consistently reported left STG volume reduction in positive symptom schizophrenia.[54] Even though, previous reports of gender effects on CC morphology have been rather inconsistent, our finding of females having larger areas of the whole CC and of the anterior and middle sub-regions could reflect a “normal hyperconnection” underlying increased ambilaterality in females.[6263] It is well known that women with schizophrenia have better premorbid functioning, a more benign illness course, lower levels of disability and better integration into the community than men.[64] The callosal hyperconnection, along with the faster development of the CC noted in females may protect them against the “misconnectivity phenomena” in the frontal lobes that males may encounter at
