Structural and Functional Brain Abnormalities in Schizophrenia

Abstract

Schizophrenia is associated with changes in the structure and functioning of a number of key brain systems, including prefrontal and medial temporal lobe regions involved in working memory and declarative memory, respectively. Imaging techniques provide an unparalleled window into these changes, allowing repeated assessments across pre- and post-onset stages of the disorder and in relation to critical periods of brain development. Here we review recent directions in structural and functional neuroimaging research on schizophrenia. The view emerging from this work is that schizophrenia is fundamentally a disorder of disrupted neural connectivity, the sources of which appear to be genetic and environmental risk factors influencing brain development both prenatally and during adolescence.

Keywords: adolescence; connectivity; development; diffusion tensor imaging; schizophrenia; structural MRI.

Fig. 1

Maps of the average annual rates of brain surface contraction in (a) individuals at ultra-high risk for developing psychosis who converted to psychosis (converters) versus those who did not convert (nonconverters), and (b) schizophrenia patients versus healthy controls. Converters and schizophrenia patients showed significantly greater brain-contraction rates compared with nonconverters and healthy individuals, respectively. A similar pattern of prominent prefrontal surface contraction was shared across groups. For the top two rows, bluer areas indicate regions of higher surface motion (in mm/year), while red and pink areas indicate areas of negative motion, or contraction; in the bottom row, red indicates regions that show statistically significant differences in the rate of contraction between groups. Based on data in Sun, Stuart, Phillips, et al. (2009) and Sun, Stuart, Jenkinson, et al. (2009).