Objective: In this study, the correlation between SPECT, a method measuring brain function, and findings of neurological examinations that are used as reflections of neuroanatomic alterations are investigated  in schizophrenic patients.

Method: Seven male and eight female patients fulfilling DSM-IV criteria for schizophrenia underwent cerebral SPECT scanning, and hard and soft neurological signs were assessed by neurological examination. The mean age of the patients was 48.07±14.43 years  and the mean duration of illness was 23.85±14.04  years. Spearman and Pearson correlation methods were used for comparisons and for other analyses, descriptive statistical methods were used.

Results: No relation was found between SPECT results and hard neurological signs. Strong negative correlations were found between the sum score of the Neurological Evaluation Scale (NES) assessing soft neurological signs and left anterior frontal, left posterior frontal and left cerebellar blood flow. In our study, strong negative correlations were found between the rhythm tapping test and the left graphesthesia items of the NES and frontal lobe blood flow. We also detected strong negative correlations between the left graphesthesia item and parietal lobe blood flow, and the fist-edge-palm test and Ozeretski test items and basal ganglia blood flow.