Structural Abnormalities in the Schizophrenic Brain
Schizophrenia causes abnormalities in the brain. Recent studies have shown schizophrenics do have a different brain structure. Studies found that there was much less gray matter and larger ventricles (fluid-filled spaces) in the brains of schizophrenics. The ventricles enlarge because the brain produces more cerebral spinal fluid to make up for the lack of gray matter (Cornett, 2000). It was also found that the schizophrenic brain overall was smaller, but that the basal ganglia was bigger. Likewise, areas of the limbic system in the temporal lobe, such as the hippocampus and the amygdala that control emotions, had also shrunk (emental-health.com, 2001).
Scientists have also found that there were structural changes at the cellular level. They found that there were more brain cells per centimetre in a schizophrenic’s brain than in the brain of a normal person. They believe this is because the dendrites attached to the cell disappear allowing enough space for more cells to enter the area. For those unfamiliar with brain structure, dendrites are root-like structures that provide communication between cells (Kolb and Whishaw, 1998). [Image from: http://www. schizophrenia.com/disease.htm]
Some scientists believed that these structural changes were caused by the medication. So a study was done on schizophrenics and other patients with psychosis on the same medication. The study found that the non-schizophrenic patients did not have the same changes in brain structure. This proved that the difference in brain structure was not caused by the medications. Another piece of evidence is that the convolutions in the brains of schizophrenics are abnormal. These abnormalities are such that they had to develop around the time of birth. (Thompson, et al, 2001)
