No evidence for left superior temporal dysfunction in asymptomatic schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. PET study of verbal fluency.

Abstract

Positron emission tomography (PET) studies have revealed functional left superior temporal gyrus (STG) abnormalities in symptomatic schizophrenia during word generation. To discover if this dysfunction is present in asymptomatic schizophrenia. To determine whether, without concurrent symptomatology, schizophrenia and bipolar affective disorder (BPD) are distinguishable by differing regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) patterns during word generation. A PET verbal fluency protocol was applied to six patients with BPD in remission and six patients with asymptomatic schizophrenia. Analysis included 10 control subjects from a contemporaneous study. All groups showed relative reduction of rCBF in both superior temporal cortices. There were no quantitative differences in any group comparison. All groups exhibited negative covariation between rCBF in left prefrontal and right (but not left) temporal regions. Abnormal patterns of left STG function cannot be regarded as a trait marker for schizophrenia. Functional abnormalities may reflect aspects of mental state.