Shape characterization of the corpus callosum in schizophrenia using template deformation

Abstract

The presence of morphologic differences in the corpus callosum in people with schizophrenia has been the subject of intense investigation for a number of years. Researchers, however, have been unable to produce consistent results through comparison of total and partitioned areas. As an alternative to these indices, we use template deformations to find regional size variations in a population of 100 patients.We generated a set of Jacobian determinant maps using k-cluster segmentation followed by a curve registration algorithm. We performed several comparisons including control versus schizophrenia, control versus schizophrenia within gender and age-related effects of control versus schizophrenia. Statistical plots revealed a substantial area of contraction in the anterior callosum associated with schizophrenia. Gender stratification showed a large contribution of this effect was from females. In addition, patients failed to demonstrate an age-related expansion of the splenium that was present among controls. Our results show that template deformation morphometry can be used to show morphologic differences in the callosa of people with schizophrenia.