Researchers identify brain changes in schizophrenia patients

Researchers have unlocked details revealing how brains change in people with schizophrenia and evidence suggesting that in the early stages of the illness the brain may be compensating for damage caused.

The project used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology to take detailed pictures of the brains of 200 schizophrenia patients and 150 people without the condition.

The researchers worked to develop a new imaging analysis technique capable of capturing both grey and white matter to map the brain and examine whether changes in both tissue types are linked. The team found that disruptions in white matter were intimately linked to changes in grey matter regions in the cerebral cortex.

The study also found that these changes tended to evolve together throughout the course of illness and, surprisingly, that the brain seemed to compensate for some of the damage caused – at least in the early stages.

White matter transmits the electrical signals brain cells use to communicate. These signals are transmitted along axons, which are insulated by a fatty substance called myelin.

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