Anatomical brain changes in schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is one of the most severe and still little-known mental diseases, with a complex etiology and pathogenesis.

This article presents the anatomical changes of the brain, which can be explained by cognitive deficits and other psychopathological symptoms that create the picture of schizophrenia. The work includes the results of available scientific studies on the changes, observed with the latest neuroimaging techniques, specific to the process of schizophrenia in the central nervous system structures such as the hippocampus, the temporal lobe, the septum pellucidum, the ventricular system, the cerebellum, the white matter and the gray matter. Brain research subjects with ultra-high risk showed that people who had developed psychosis had reduced hippocampal structure on the right. Also, the analysis of MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) images shows the reduced volume of the upper and middle bend in the left hemisphere, and reduced volume of the lower temporal gyrus in both hemispheres. Recent studies using the technique of SBM (source-based morphometry) showed a decrease in cortical thickness in the frontotemporal area, in parts of the visual cortex for example: the lateral-occipital cortex, the linguistic cortex and the temporal-occipital cortex. The cerebellum, which is involved in cognition and emotion regulation, reduces its overall volume and the volume of the cortex in schizophrenia. It’s correlated with the reduced linear density of the cortex and a small number of Purkinje cells. The dynamic development of new neuroimaging methods in recent years allowed us to take a look at the working brain or the brain of the living man. Thanks to the cooperation of the psychiatrist and the neuroradiologist it will be possible a better understanding of mental illness, including schizophrenia. A review of researches on the brain structures of patients with schizophrenia presented in this article is proof of permanent anatomical changes that explain the causes and mechanisms of many psychopathological symptoms.