Object: This study was performed to evaluate the effect of schizophrenia clinical subtypes
and antipsychotics adminstration on brain asymmetry.
Method : Twenty-nine normal controls, 29 non-medicated schizophrenic patients, 29 antipsychotics-
medicated schizophrenic patients were studied. Clinical subtypes of schizophrenia
were evaluated by PANSS and brain asymmetry was determined by visual hemifield and tachistoscopic
method.
Result : The positive symptom score had a high correlation with brain asymmetxicity
(laterality score), but the negative symptom score did not have a significant correlation. Also,
the symptom items which had a statistically significant correlation with laterality score were almost
always positive symptoms and rarely negative symptoms. Antipsychotics increased the
correlation of laterality score with the positive symptom score, but not with the negative symptom
score.
Conclusion : These results support the hypothesis that the positive symptoms and the negative
symptoms of schizophrenia have a different neurophysiological mechanism