Ventricular enlargement, neuropsychological status, and premorbid function in schizophrenia

Postweaning social isolation enhances morphological changes in the neonatal ventral hippocampal lesion rat model of psychosis

“…In addition, brain imaging and anatomical studies have provided evidence for morphological alterations in schizophrenia (Wright et al, 2000;Shenton et al, 2001) including abnormally large ventricular volume and smaller cortical and subcortical gray matter volumes (Bogerts et al, 1993;Lim et al, 1996;Powchik et al, 1998;McClure and Weinberger, 2001). For example, several studies have reported cerebral ventricular enlargements in schizophrenic patients with a clear relationship to both the severity of clinical symptoms and psychosocial dysfunctions (Bilder, 1992;Klausner et al, 1992;DeQuardo et al, 1994;Rajarethinam et al, 2000). Interestingly, our data suggest that social isolation classified as a negative symptom, could exacerbate cortical malconnectivity in the nVH-lesion animal model .…”

Using latent class growth analysis to form trajectories of premorbid adjustment in schizophrenia.

“…Studies examining both premorbid adjustment and age of onset in combination have yielded interesting associations with post-onset cognitive performance. DeQuardo et al (1994) linked early onset and poor premorbid function to lower IQ and higher ventricle-brain ratio. Earlier onset and poor premorbid function have also been associated with deficits in attention and executive function (Basso, Nasrallah, Olson, & Bornstein, 1997; Silverstein, Mavroleftos, & Close, 2002).…”

Neurocognitive Dysfunction in First-Episode Psychosis: Correlates With Symptoms, Premorbid Adjustment, and Duration of Untreated Psychosis

“…Binder et al (21) reported no difference in neuropsychological performance between patients with short and long prodromal periods, suggesting that neuropsychological deficits in first-episode schizophrenia are independent of the early course of the illness. DeQuardo et al (22) associated premorbid asociality with adult neuropsychological dysfunction, and Levitt et al (23) reported an association of poor premorbid adjustment with perseverative errors on the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test and poor visual memory span performance. Bilder et al (6) found that neuropsychological measures correlated with childhood adjustment.…”