Many of the structural brain abnormalities found in schizophrenia (SC)
and bipolar disorder (BD) over the past decade are believed to represent
impaired neurodevelopmental processes. The authors hypothesized that
incidental developmental anomalies would be more frequently present in the
brains of subjects with SC and BD compared with healthy control subjects.
The authors systematically assessed the MRI scans of 167 subjects (SC = 67,
BD/schizoaffective = 63, healthy control subjects = 37) for the presence of
23 developmental anomalies involving cortical and subcortical structures.
No excess neurodevelopmental anomalies were found in the schizophrenic or
bipolar/schizoaffective groups. These findings do not support the
hypothesis that SC and BD are associated with an excess of gross
neurodevelopmental brain anomalies.Abstract Teaser