The Developmental Neurobiology of Brain Connectivity in Schizophrenia

Much work over the past two decades supports the concept that schizophrenia involves a disruption in the orchestration of the multiple neural networks that participate in higher cognitive functions. The connectivity between neural networks arising during normal development is potentially disrupted, leading to the recruitment of either inappropriate regions for task execution, or alternatively, alters the processing requirements in expected regions. For example, studies utilizing both glucose metabolism (FDG-PET), SPECT, and H2O15 PET have demonstrated hypofrontality in the dorslolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) on tasks of executive function. Additionally, studies utilizing diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), which measures the coherence of neuronal fiber tracts, have shown a decrease in the coherence of white matter tracts in schizophrenia. This is presumed to be additional evidence for disrupted connectivity in schizophrenia.