Interaction of Hippocampal Volume and N-Acetylaspartate Concentration Deficits in Schizophrenia: A Combined MRI and 1H-MRS Study at 3 T

Florian Schubert¹, Andreas Klaer², Martina Ballmaier², Karolina Leopold², Ines Haeke², Martin Schaefer³, Ruediger Bruehl¹, Juergen Gallinat²

We used single voxel 1H-MRS at 3 Tesla to measure absolute NAA concentrations and, as a gold standard of CNS volumetry, a validated delineation protocol for the hippocampus to study the interaction between between hippocampal NAA reduction and volume deficits in 29 schizophrenic patients and 44 controls. The hippocampus of the patients exhibited a significantly smaller volume and lower NAA concentration than that of healthy controls. For schizophrenic patients a significant negative correlation between hippocampal NAA concentration and volume was observed. The results argue for a coexistent neurochemical and structural deficit in the hippocampus of schizophrenic patients.