Schizophrenia is a complicated disorder with symptoms that are quite abnormal. Because schizophrenics show such odd behavior patterns, it may be that some schizophrenics actually have brain structure abnormalities. The neurodevelopmental theory suggests that there mild abnormalities in the schizophrenic brain.
Schizophrenic Onset Types
There are two types of schizophrenic onset: acute and chronic. It is necessary to understand the difference between the two before understanding the brain of a schizophrenic. Acute onset schizophrenia is when the psychotic break happens quickly and is often triggered by an event. Chronic schizophrenia happens gradually. The person will show signs then slowly become schizophrenic without the trigger of an event. It is the chronic onset schizophrenics that are likely to have an abnormally structured brain.
Grey Matter
An MRI images a living brain by using a magnetic field and a radio frequency in order to make atoms with odd atomic weights all rotate in the same direction and then removing those fields and measuring the energy that the atoms release. When a person with schizophrenic brain is scan with an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging), they tend to have slightly less grey matter in the prefrontal cortex, the temporal cortex, and hippocampus, especially the left hemisphere (the analytical side, which may be why they lose logical thinking) than a normal brain. Grey matter areas are sections of the nervous system with a high density of cell bodies and dendrites. Grey matter contains only a few myelinated axons. MRI scans also showed that a schizophrenic brain has larger ventricles which are the fluid filled spaces in the brain.
Cell Bodies
Many studies of schizophrenic brains show that the cell bodies in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex are smaller than the cell bodies of normal brain. Small cell bodies in the prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus may be why schizophrenics struggle with memory.
Lateralization
Lateralization refers to the placement of the left and right hemispheres in the brain. The left side of the brain is responsible for logical and analytical thinking. The right side of the brain is responsible for the more creative style thinking. In most normal brains, the left side of the brain is larger than the right side. In some schizophrenic brains, the right hemisphere is larger than the left. Schizophrenic people generally show less left hemisphere activity than a normal brain.
Complications at Birth
Many people who are schizophrenic were born while their mothers were suffering pregnancy complications. Often times when there are problems in a pregnancy, the fetus struggles to get oxygen to the brain. Being deprived of oxygen in the fetal stage can cause brain damage. Usually this damage leads to mental retardation, but it may lead to the loss of grey matter.
Tags: cell bodies, normal brain, prefrontal cortex, schizophrenic brain, , brain Grey