Cerebellar pathology in schizophrenia? A neuronometric study

Abstract

We have reviewed clinical, neuroradiological, and neuropathological studies of cerebellar pathology in schizophrenia. The literature suggests that a proportion of schizophrenic patients may have possible cerebellar pathology, but the specificity and exact nature of any such pathology are open to question. We conducted a neuronometric study of principal efferent neurons in cerebella from the brains of 23 leucotomized schizophrenic patients, 23 leucotomized controls, and 37 normal controls in the Yakovlev Collection. There were no significant differences among the three groups in Purkinje cell density in anterior vermis, posterior vermis, or hemispheres; size of the Purkinje cell or its nucleus in anterior vermis; or multipolar cell density in dentate nucleus. Various possible explanations for our findings are considered.