Neuroanatomy of Patients with Deficit Schizophrenia: An Exploratory Quantitative Meta-Analysis of Structural Neuroimaging Studies

Little is known regarding the neuroanatomical correlates of patients with deficit schizophrenia or persistent negative symptoms. In this meta-analysis, we aimed to determine whether patients with deficit schizophrenia have characteristic brain abnormalities. We searched PubMed, CINAHL and Ovid to identify studies that examined the various regions of interest amongst patients with deficit schizophrenia, patients with non-deficit schizophrenia and healthy controls. A total of 24 studies met our inclusion criteria. A random-effects model was used to calculate a combination of outcome measures, and heterogeneity was assessed by the I² statistic and Cochran's Q statistic. Our findings suggested that there was statistically significant reduction in grey matter volume (-0.433, 95% confidence interval (CI): -0.853 to -0.014, p = 0.043) and white matter volume (-0.319, 95% CI: -0.619 to -0.018, p = 0.038) in patients with deficit schizophrenia compared to healthy controls. There is also statistically significant reduction in total brain volume (-0.212, 95% CI: -0.384 to -0.041, p = 0.015) and white matter volume (-0.283, 95% CI: -0.546 to -0.021, p = 0.034) in patients with non-deficit schizophrenia compared to healthy controls. Between patients with deficit and non-deficit schizophrenia, there were no statistically significant differences in volumetric findings across the various regions of interest.