BASAL GANGLIA T-2 RELAXATION-TIMES IN SCHIZOPHRENIA - A QUANTITATIVE MAGNETIC-RESONANCE-IMAGING STUDY IN RELATION TO TARDIVE-DYSKINESIA

Transverse, or spin-spin, relaxation times (T-2) from magnetic resonance images of basal ganglia structures were compared between control subjects and patients with schizophrenia, who were subdivided on the basis of the presence or absence of tardive dyskinesia, As a group, schizophrenic patients showed evidence of somewhat more prolonged T-2 relaxation times in the right putamen and globus pallidus than did control subjects; there were no significant correlations between hemispheric T-2 values and corresponding volumes of the lateral ventricles. Overall, there was little difference in T,values between patients with and without tardive dyskinesia. These data extend the range of evidence for basal ganglia dysfunction in schizophrenia, but they do not support earlier reports of prominent T-2 changes associated with tardive dyskinesia.