Study Identifies Brain Abnormalities in People with Schizophrenia

An international collaborative study has revealed physical differences in the brains of those suffering from schizophrenia, a discovery that could impact treatment methods and classification dynamics. A scientist from Georgia State University collaborating with the Enhancing Neuroimaging Genetics through Meta-Analysis project (ENIGMA), from the Schizophrenia Working Group has published their findings in the journal Molecular Psychiatry. The study found smaller volume within several portions of the brain among those diagnosed with schizophrenia, heavily visible compared to control studies. “This is the largest structural brain meta-analysis to date in schizophrenia, and specifically, it is not a meta-analysis pulled only from the literature,” said the author of the study. “Investigators dug into their desk drawers, including unpublished data to participate in these analyses. Everyone performed the same analyses using the same statistical models, and we combined the results. We then identified brain regions that differentiated patients from controls and ranked them according to their effect sizes.” To learn more about this study, click here.