Positron emission tomography studies of basal ganglia and somatosensory cortex neuroleptic drug effects: differences between normal controls and schizophrenic patients.

Glucose metabolic rate in the basal ganglia, thalamus, and somatosensory cortex was examined in eight patients with schizophrenia before and after receiving neuroleptic medication. Basal ganglia metabolic rates were increased with medication: more on the right than on the left and more in putamen than caudate. The cortical anteroposterior ratio, an index of relative hypofrontality, was not affected by neuroleptics. The brain areas that were found to be altered by neuroleptics were selected for comparison between off-medication schizophrenics and controls. Metabolic rates in the basal ganglia tended to be low in patients with schizophrenia in comparison to 24 age- and sex-matched controls.