Inferior frontal gyrus gray matter volume is associated with aggressive behavior in schizophrenia spectrum disorders.
We aimed to assess potential gray matter (GM) alterations for aggressive patterns of behavior in a sample of in- and outpatients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Eighty-four patients previously participating in brain volumetric studies were included. Aggression was assessed using the Modified Overt Aggression Scales (MOAS) based upon review of clinical records of the hospital register. Multiple regression analyses for total MOAS and each MOAS subscale separately were conducted correcting for age, sex, history of addiction, chlorpromazine equivalents, illness duration, and total intracranial volume. Significant effects were reported in two cases; the total MOAS scores and MOAS verbal aggression scores were associated with GM volume in left inferior frontal gyrus. From the demographic/clinical characteristics, only the number of episodes correlated with the subscales and the total MOAS scores. Our results highlight the role of GM volume in left inferior frontal gyri in patients with history of aggression. This evidence ties in well with previous data reporting involvement of these regions in response control and semantic networks.
['Schoretsanitis|Georgios|G|', 'Stegmayer|Katharina|K|', 'Razavi|Nadja|N|', 'Federspiel|Andrea|A|', 'Müller|Thomas J|TJ|', 'Horn|Helge|H|', 'Wiest|Roland|R|', 'Strik|Werner|W|', 'Walther|Sebastian|S|']
D000328:Adult D000368:Aged D000374:Aggression D005260:Female D066128:Gray Matter D006801:Humans D008297:Male D008875:Middle Aged D009929:Organ Size D017397:Prefrontal Cortex D012559:Schizophrenia D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology D014705:Verbal Behavior D055815:Young Adult
Gray matter volume Aggression Schizophrenia State markers Violence