High choline concentrations in the caudate nucleus in antipsychotic-naive patients with schizophrenia

Objective: Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (H-1-MRS) studies of medicated patients with schizophrenia suggest high choline levels in the caudate nucleus. However, assessments of antipsychotic-naive patients are needed. Method: The authors studied 11 antipsychotic-naive schizophrenia patients and 11 normal comparison subjects with single-voxel 1H-MRS of the left caudate nucleus. Concentrations of N-acetylaspartate, choline, and creatine were determined and corrected for the proportion of cerebrospinal fluid in the voxel. Results: The patients with schizophrenia had significantly higher levels of choline than the comparison subjects, while the other two metabolites did not differ between groups. Conclusions: High caudate choline levels in schizophrenia are not secondary to antipsychotic treatment.