Relationship of Executive Functions and Processing Speed with Cortical Gray Matter Morphometry in Healthy Adults and at The Early Stages of Schizophrenia

13 male patients with schizophrenia and 18 age-matched healthy men underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging and completed the Stroop task which included the switching condition. As compared to controls, the patients showed slowing of color naming in the neutral condition and a reduction of gray matter volume and thickness in the frontal and temporal areas. In healthy subjects, the time of color naming was negatively correlated with gray matter volume in the left cuneus. In the schizophrenia group, there was a positive correlation between the time of color naming and cortical thickness in the middle and inferior frontal gyri of the right hemisphere. These results indicate a change in structural-functional relationships at the early stages of schizophrenia.