Deformation-Based Morphometric Analysis of Brain Structures in First Episode Schizophrenia

Abstract

The pathological reason for schizophrenia is still unknown to date. Fortunately, deformation based morphometry (DBM) provides an important tool for the computational anatomy research. In this study we detected the changes of regional volume in brain structures between the first episode schizophrenia (FES) and normal controls with DBM method. Information of the difference is derived from the deformation field acquired during HAMMER non-rigid registration. The experimental results show that contracted regions are mainly located in Brodmann42 and right occipital lobe while the expanded regions are located in Brodmann38, 21, left middle frontal gyrus and left cerebellum. This research is very helpful to make the cause of changes in schizophrenia's brain structures clear.