Skip to main content
Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry logoLink to Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry
. 1989 Feb;52(2):156–161. doi: 10.1136/jnnp.52.2.156

What happens in the leucotomised brain? A postmortem morphological study of brains from schizophrenic patients.

B Pakkenberg 1
PMCID: PMC1032499  PMID: 2703834

Abstract

Volume measurements were carried out on 19 brains from leucotomised schizophrenic patients and 20 age- and sex-matched controls using a stereological method. The volume of the total fixed brain, hemispheres, cortex, white matter, and central grey matter were all significantly reduced compared with controls. White matter and central grey structures were significantly reduced compared with a group of non-leucotomised schizophrenic brains. No difference was found in the size of the lesions in patients who improved compared with the patients who remained unchanged and the outcome was unrelated to lesional asymmetry. Morphometric measurements were correlated to a number of clinical parameters.

Full text

PDF
156

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Andreasen N. C., Olsen S. A., Dennert J. W., Smith M. R. Ventricular enlargement in schizophrenia: relationship to positive and negative symptoms. Am J Psychiatry. 1982 Mar;139(3):297–302. doi: 10.1176/ajp.139.3.297. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Brandon S., McClelland H. A., Protheroe C. A study of facial dyskinesia in a mental hospital population. Br J Psychiatry. 1971 Feb;118(543):171–184. doi: 10.1192/bjp.118.543.171. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. FAURBYE A., RASCH P. J., PETERSEN P. B., BRANDBORG G., PAKKENBERG H. NEUROLOGICAL SYMPTOMS IN PHARMACOTHERAPY OF PSYCHOSES. Acta Psychiatr Scand. 1964;40:10–27. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0447.1964.tb05731.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. HUNTER R., EARL C. J., JANZ D. A SYNDROME OF ABNORMAL MOVEMENTS AND DEMENTIA IN LEUCOTOMIZED PATIENTS TREATED WITH PHENOTHIAZINES. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 1964 Jun;27:219–223. doi: 10.1136/jnnp.27.3.219. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Johnstone E. C., Crow T. J., Frith C. D., Husband J., Kreel L. Cerebral ventricular size and cognitive impairment in chronic schizophrenia. Lancet. 1976 Oct 30;2(7992):924–926. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(76)90890-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Naeser M. A., Levine H. L., Benson D. F., Stuss D. T., Weir W. S. Frontal leukotomy size and hemispheric asymmetries on computerized tomographic scans of schizophrenics with variable recovery. Northampton Veterans Administration study. Arch Neurol. 1981 Jan;38(1):30–37. doi: 10.1001/archneur.1981.00510010056010. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Nasrallah H. A., Jacoby C. G., McCalley-Whitters M., Kuperman S. Cerebral ventricular enlargement in subtypes of chronic schizophrenia. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1982 Jul;39(7):774–777. doi: 10.1001/archpsyc.1982.04290070010003. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Nybäck H., Wiesel F. A., Berggren B. M., Hindmarsh T. Computed tomography of the brain in patients with acute psychosis and in healthy volunteers. Acta Psychiatr Scand. 1982 Jun;65(6):403–414. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0447.1982.tb00864.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Pakkenberg B. Post-mortem study of chronic schizophrenic brains. Br J Psychiatry. 1987 Dec;151:744–752. doi: 10.1192/bjp.151.6.744. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Weinberger D. R., DeLisi L. E., Perman G. P., Targum S., Wyatt R. J. Computed tomography in schizophreniform disorder and other acute psychiatric disorders. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1982 Jul;39(7):778–783. doi: 10.1001/archpsyc.1982.04290070014004. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES