Smaller cerebellar vermis but not hemisphere volumes in patients with chronic schizophrenia

OBJECTIVE: The authors previously reported that men with chronic schizophrenia had a smaller vermian subregion than did healthy men. In this study, they tested whether posterior superior vermis reduction would be seen in a larger group of schizophrenia patients, both male and female. METHOD: Brain volumetric analyses were performed with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in 59 male and female patients with chronic schizophrenia and 57 male and female healthy comparison subjects. RESULTS: The men as well as the women with schizophrenia had significantly smaller total vermis volume and smaller vermian subregions than did the healthy subjects. Total intracranial volume and cerebellar hemisphere volumes did not differ between schizophrenic and healthy subjects. CONCLUSIONS: The findings support the previous finding that in patients with chronic schizophrenia, there is a selective volume reduction of the cerebellar vermis within the cerebellum.