Lower Hippocampal Volume in Patients with Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder: A Quantitative MRI Study

Since patients with schizophrenia (SZ) and bipolar disorder (BD) share many biological features, detecting biomarkers that differentiate SZ and BD patients is crucial for optimized treatments. High-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is suitable for detecting subtle brain structural differences in patients with psychiatric disorders. In the present study, we adopted a neuroanatomically defined and manually delineated region of interest (ROI) method to evaluate the amygdalae, hippocampi, Heschl’s gyrus (HG), and planum temporale (PT), because these regions are crucial in the development of SZ and BD. ROI volumes were measured using high resolution MRI in 31 healthy subjects (HS), 23 SZ patients, and 21 BD patients. Right hippocampal volumes differed significantly among groups (HS > BD > SZ), whereas left hippocampal volumes were lower in SZ patients than in HS and BD patients (HS = BD > SZ). Volumes of the amygdalae, HG, and PT did not differ among the three groups. For clinical correlations, there were no significant associations between ROI volumes and demographics/clinical symptoms. Our study revealed significant lower hippocampal volume in patients with SZ and BD, and we suggest that the right hippocampal volume is a potential biomarker for differentiation between SZ and BD.