What happens in the leucotomised brain? A postmortem morphological study of brains from schizophrenic patients.

Volume measurements were carried out on 19 brains from leucotomised schizophrenic patients and 20 age- and sex-matched controls using a stereological method. The volume of the total fixed brain, hemispheres, cortex, white matter, and central grey matter were all significantly reduced compared with controls. White matter and central grey structures were significantly reduced compared with a group of non-leucotomised schizophrenic brains. No difference was found in the size of the lesions in patients who improved compared with the patients who remained unchanged and the outcome was unrelated to lesional asymmetry. Morphometric measurements were correlated to a number of clinical parameters.