Higher than normal glutamine levels in the left anterior cingulate and thalamus provide in vivo evidence of greater than normal glutamatergic activity proposed by glutamatergic models of schizophrenia. In contrast to other studies in chronically ill patients, no differences were seen in the levels of N-acetylaspartate in either location, suggesting that the findings in patients with chronic schizophrenia may be related to the effect of medication or the progression of the illness.

Since previous studies have found higher than normal levels of glutamine in the left anterior cingulate of never-treated patients, decreased levels of these metabolites in chronic patients could be related to neurodegeneration or the effects of chronic medication.

No abstract