Akira Kunimatsu1, Natsuko Kunimatsu2, Shigeki Aoki1,3, Osamu Abe1, Yoshitaka Masutani1, Hidenori Yamasue4, Kiyoto Kasai4, Harushi Mori1, Daisuke Itoh2, Kuni Ohtomo1
1Department of Radiology, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan; 2Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan; 3Department of Radiology, Juntendo University, Tokyo, Japan; 4Department of Neuropsychiatry, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
We aimed to seek diffusion abnormalities of white matter tracts included in the limbic system in schizophrenic patients on a diffusion tensor tract-specific basis. We found significant decreases of fractional anisotropy in the anterior cingulum bundles, the uncinate fasciculi, and the fornices in schizophrenic patients. Our results suggest that disintegration of limbic system network could be monitored by diffusion tensor imaging.