Neurobehavioral Deficit and Computed Tomographic Abnormalities in Three Samples of Schizophrenic Patients

Abstract

Recent reports have suggested that schizophrenics show brain abnormalities as reflected on computed tomography (CT Scan). We present data on three groups of schizophrenic patients which replicate our original report of this phenomenon with associated neuropsychological test results. The over-all evidence for an increased rate of neuropsychological abnormalities and related CT structural anomalies in groups of schizophrenics in several studies is robust. The biological dynamics, cause-effect relationships, and clinical applicability of this phenomenon in the individual case, however, are far from clear. Diagnostic agreements between behavioral and structural abnormalities should simultaneously sound a note of clinical caution and stimulate further study.