Elsevier

Schizophrenia Research

Volume 7, Issue 3, September 1992, Pages 237-247
Schizophrenia Research

Pre-frontal structural and functional deficits associated with individual differences in schizotypal personality

https://doi.org/10.1016/0920-9964(92)90018-ZGet rights and content

Abstract

This study tests the hypothesis that pre-frontal deficits underlie schizotypal personality in the normal population. Personality measures assessing features of DSM-IIIR schizotypal personality disorder (SPD) were related to left and right pre-frontal brain area assessed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and neuropsychological measures of pre-frontal functioning (Wisconsin Card Sorting Task, WCST) in a group of non-institutionalized, unmedicated normal subjects. High schizotypal scores were significantly associated with reduced pre-frontal area and more WCST perseveration errors; conversely no relationships were observed between these pre-frontal measures and measures of psychosis-proneness unrelated to SPD traits. Pre-frontal structural findings were not found to be mediated by temporal lobe and posterior cortical structural deficits, height, weight, socio-economic status, education level and sex differences, while pre-frontal functional findings were not mediated by non-prefrontal cognitive ability. These findings of pre-frontal structural and functional deficits associated with schizotypal personality provide some initial converging support for a pre-frontal explanation of individual differences in schizotypal personality in the general population.

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