Mapping the Different Asymmetry of Normal Controls and First Episode Drug Nave Schzophrenia Patients by Voxel-Based Morphometry

Ling Zou¹, Wei Deng², Tao Li², Qiyong Gong³

Asymmetry of two halves of brain is recognized as a fundamental property and the basis for optimal brain function division. Abnormal asymmetry that may generated in early stage of neurodevelopment was found in schizophrenia patients. However, most studies used the ROI based analysis, which resulted in the failure of exploring overall asymmetry changes. We applied optimized voxel based morphometry (VBM) study on the level of whole brain in normal controls and first-episode, antipsychotic-naive schizophrenia patients, consequently observed overall lateralization patterns and their decease and aberrance in schizophrenia patients. Future study is necessary to gain further insight into our findings.