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The ventricular-brain ratio (VBR) in functional psychoses: the relationship of lateral ventricular and total intracranial area

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

I. Harvey ,
M. Williams ,
B. K. Toone ,
S. W. Lewis ,
S. W. Turner  and
P. McGuffin
I. Harvey*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychological Medicine, King's College Hospital, London
M. Williams
Affiliation:
Department of Psychological Medicine, King's College Hospital, London
B. K. Toone
Affiliation:
Department of Psychological Medicine, King's College Hospital, London
S. W. Lewis
Affiliation:
Department of Psychological Medicine, King's College Hospital, London
S. W. Turner
Affiliation:
Department of Psychological Medicine, King's College Hospital, London
P. McGuffin
Affiliation:
Department of Psychological Medicine, King's College Hospital, London
*
1Address for correspondence: Dr I. Harvey, Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, Denmark Hill, London SE5 8AF.
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Synopsis

CT scans were performed on 72 consecutive patients with a functional psychosis, and compared with 50 community controls. There was a specific difference in lateral ventricular area between these two groups but it accounted for only 11% of the variance in this measure. In contrast, racial and sexual differences in the ventricular-brain ratio (VBR) related to differences in intra-cranial area. It is argued that analysis of variance, using lateral ventricular area and intra-cranial area, is more informative than VBR in examining these structural changes in functional psychoses.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 20 , Issue 1 , February 1990 , pp. 55 - 62
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1990

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