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The British Journal of Psychiatry (2006) 188: 293-294. doi: 10.1192/bjp.188.3.293-a
© 2006 The Royal College of Psychiatrists
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Correspondence

White matter in liars

M. J. P. Kruesi

Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, PO Box 250861, Charleston, SC 29425, USA.

M. F. Casanova

Department of Psychiatry, University of Louisville, Kentucky, USA

Correspondence: E-mail: kruesi{at}musc.edu

Yang et al (2005) propose a neurodevelopmental theory of pathological lying, finding increased prefrontal white matter and lower prefrontal gray/white ratios in pathological liars compared with antisocial and normal controls. Spence (2005) asks whether these findings represent cause or effect. Since lying is a criterion symptom for childhood conduct disorder, we reexamined a structural magnetic resonance imaging study of early-onset conduct disorders (Kruesi et al, 2004 plus unpublished data).

Youths had been classified as liars or not based upon structured interviews and collateral information when documenting criterion symptoms of conduct disorder. Liars (n=6) were compared with individuals with conduct disorder (n=4) and with healthy volunteers (n=10). The mean ages of the three groups (191.5, 195 and 190.8 months) were similar (F(2,19)=0.015). In accordance with developmental differences, ratios of prefrontal white volume to total brain volume were lower in our three groups of youths (0.039, 0.026 and 0.034 for liars, antisocial controls and healthy volunteers respectively) than in the corresponding groups of adults reported by Yang et al (0.069, 0.054 and 0.054). However, prefrontal white to whole brain ratio, prefrontal white volume, or prefrontal grey/white ratios did not differ between our youth groups (F(2,19)=1.105, 0.973 and 0.337 respectively).

We also examined the corpus callosum morphometrically using the method of Casanova et al (1990). Since Raine et al’s (2003) strongest effect size was seen for corpus callosum volume and limited data were available, we calculated the ratio of corpus callosum area to whole brain volume as a proxy for corpus callosum volume. A trend for ratio differences between the three groups was seen (F(2,19)=2.748, P=0.092), with the smallest ratios in the liars (0.080), followed by antisocial controls (0.086) and healthy controls (0.091).

Thus, we did not find prefrontal differences in lying youths but did find suggestion of corpus callosum differences. Our results are consistent with the notion that prefrontal findings are not causal, although they may be linked to the maintenance of the symptom of lying and consistent with myelination proceeding rostrally and from the inside (longer connections) outward (short association fibres and arcuate fibres).

REFERENCES

Casanova, M. F., Sanders, R. D., Goldberg, T. E., et al (1990) Morphometry of the corpus callosum in monozygotic twins discordant for schizophrenia: a magnetic resonance imaging study. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, 53, 416 –421.[Abstract]

Kruesi, M. J. P., Casanova, M. F., Mannheim, G., et al (2004) Reduced temporal lobe volume in early onset conduct disorder. Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, 132, 1 –11.[CrossRef]

Raine, A. Lencz, T., Taylor, K., et al (2003) Corpus callosum abnormalities in psychopathic antisocial individuals. Archives of General Psychiatry, 60, 1134 –1142.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

Spence, S. A. (2005) Prefrontal white matter – the tissue of lies? Invited commentary on Prefrontal white matter in pathological liars. British Journal of Psychiatry, 187, 326 –327.[Free Full Text]

Yang, Y., Raine, A., Lencz, T., et al (2005) Prefrontal white matter in pathological liars. British Journal of Psychiatry, 187, 320 –325.[Abstract/Free Full Text]





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