Schizophrenia and NeuroDevelopment

- Neuro Disorders

Schizophrenia and NeuroDevelopment Disorders. Neurobiology of schizophrenia

Medical studies found some relation of cerebral gray matter volume to age for schizophrenia.
Comparing gray matter for age for the patients with schizophrenia and for the healthy comparison subjects (after correction for sex and total intracranial volume).
Observed a diference between the gray matter volume and expected (grand average) volume on the basis of the normal gray matter volume by sex and intracranial volume.

Some neurodevelopment disorders and brain morphology performs into NeuroDevelopment of human brain morphology in health and disease, and particularly into brain abnormalities in schizophrenia, autism, ADHD, depression, and focal brain damage using magnetic resonance imaging.

Schizophrenia and the Brain

Studies in 159 patients with schizophrenia revealed evidence for global and focal (progressive) brain abnormalities in schizophrenia.
Decreases in gray matter density were found in the left amygdala; left hippocampus; right supramarginal gyrus; thalamus; (orbito) frontal, (supeerior) temporal, occipitotemporal, precuneate, posterior cingulate, and insular cortices bilaterally in the patients. Moreover, in this study the decreased density in the left amygdala was more pronounced in older patients with schizophrenia.
Total brain is smaller (-2.2%),
cerebral gray matter smaller (-3.3%)
prefrontal gray matter also small (-4.4%), and
prefrontal white matter (-3.5%) volumes were smaller, and
lateral (27%) and third (30%) ventricle and peripheral CSF (11%) volumes were larger.
Focal decreases (A- C) and increases (D) in gray matter density in patients with schizophrenia compared with healthy comparision control subjects.
The smaller gray matter volume was more pronounced in older patients with schizophrenia which may suggest progressive loss of cerebral gray matter in schizophrenia patients.
Using voxel- Based morphometry in the MRI scans of these subjects, gray matter density was found decreased in distinct focal areas in the brains of patients with schizophrenia or schizophreniform disorder.

Schizophrenia, genetics and environment

The brain abnormalities in schizophrenia have been associated with an increased genetic risk in schizophrenia.
In a study in monozygotic and dizygotic twins discordant for schizophrenia and healthy comparison twins (Baare et al, Arch Gen Psychiatry 2001) smaller intracranial volumes in the monozygotic patients and their cotwins suggested that increased genetic risk to develop schizophrenia is related to reduced brain growth early in life. Additional reduction in whole- Brain volume in the patients suggested that the manifestation of the disorder is related to (neurodegenerative) processes that are most likely non-genetic in origin. In a study in patients with schizophrenia, their healthy non-twin same-sex siblings, and unrelated healthy comparison subjects, siblings shared a decreased thalamus and enlarged third ventricle volume with their affected siblings, suggesting these may be related to genetic defects that produced a susceptibility to schizophrenia. Other abnormalities were found to be related to particular environmental factors including famine and antipsychotic drug use.
Indications were found for a relation with symptomatology and outcome of the disease.
Some of the brain abnormalities are progressive in schizophrenia possibly reflecting an active disease process, part of which are genetically mediated, although influence of environmental factors cannot be excluded. Future studies will be performed into the onset and progression of brain abnormalities in schizophrenia, autism and other brain (developmental) disorders.
A significant group effect indicated that twins discordant for schizophrenia had significantly smaller whole- Brain volumes than healthy twins.
Patients as well as their cotwins had reduced whole- Brain volumes. Moreover, patients had significantly smaller brains than their cotwins

Neurobiology and schizophrenia

MSU - Twenty- Nine Medical Causes of Schizophrenia

NeuroDevelopment and Schizophrenia

The Contribution of Early Traumatic Events to Schizophrenia in Some Patients: A Traumagenic NeuroDevelopmental Model

Twenty-Nine Medical Causes of Schizophrenia

GSK-3 and NeuroDevelopmental Hypothesis of Schizophrenia. - European Neuropsychopharmacology.

Causes of Schizophrenia and Systems Interact.