Extracranial Size in Patients with Schizophrenia

Much of the current literature from both neuroimaging and post mortem studies points to a reduction in intracranial size and cerebrum in schizophrenia. Intriguingly, there is also evidence for reduced extracranial size in infants at high risk for schizophrenia, while studies in adults with schizophrenia which have assessed head size have been inconclusive. Using head measures of circumference, length and width derived from caliper examination in both coronal and saggital planes, we examined head size in 46 male controls (mean age 42 6 9 years; 20 Caucasian, 26 African American) and 44 patients (mean age 40 6 9 years; 18 Caucasian, 26 African American) with DSM-IV schizophrenia. In a linear regression model which entered race and diagnosis as independent factors and stature and elbow breadth as covariates, we found no evidence for reduced extracranial size in schizophrenia. These data suggest that the process(es) which underlie smaller brains in schizophrenia do not produce a corresponding reduction in head size.