Onset of Schizophrenia Prior to the End of Brain Maturation Alters Grey Matter Volume Loss

Background: Brain maturation is considered completed around the age of 25, when prefrontal cortex maturation has been achieved. The aim of our study was to investigate the alterations of grey matter (GM) in patients with the onset of schizophrenia before and after the completion of brain maturation. Subjects and methods: The study group included 100 schizophrenia patients, while the control group comprised 50 healthy individuals. Brain magnetic resonance imaging was acquired on a 1.5 T scanner. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) analyses were performed between groups. Results: GM of the schizophrenic patients is reduced in many regions (p