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Functional changes

Brain functional alterations in schizophrenia include changes to cerebral blood flow and metabolism, electrophysiology, body functioning, and biochemicals. Click on the tabs below to access the information, or browse via the drop-down menu on the left.

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Body structure and function

Body functioning

This category includes information on body functioning anomalies in schizophrenia. These include laterality (e.g. handedness), movement disorders, olfactory functioning, neurological soft signs, pain sensitivity, temperature regulation, sleep disturbances, and changes to voice patterns. Click on the links, or the tabs below, or browse via the drop-down menu on the left. Image: ©stock.adobe.com

Biochemical changes

This category contains information on biochemical changes in schizophrenia. These changes may indicate markers for the disorder and can provide insights into improved drug treatments. Common alterations include changes in levels of serotonin, dopamine, glutamate, cortisol, and synaptic proteins, more infectious agents, and changes to the immune system. Click on the links or the tabs below to access the information, or browse via the drop-down menu on the left. Image: ©Kateryna_Kon - stock.adobe.com

Cerebral blood flow and metabolism

This category provides information regarding changes to cerebral blood flow and metabolism in schizophrenia. These are assessed using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), positron emission tomography (PET), and single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). Click on the links or the tabs below to access the information, or browse via the drop-down menu on the left. Image: ©2018 Andrew Ostrovsky - stock.adobe.com

Electrophysiology

Alterations in electrophysiology have been observed in people with schizophrenia. Magnetoencephalography (MEG) uses a helmet-shaped device containing sensors to noninvasively measure the magnetic fields produced by neural activity of the brain.  Electroencephalography (EEG) uses electrodes on the scalp to measure electrical activity in the brain. EEG also gives rise to event related potentials (ERP), which measure the EEG activity directly evoked by a stimulus, often using cognitive or perceptual stimuli. One example of an ERP is the P300 wave, which is measured primarily over the parietal lobe and is used as a measure of cognitive function. Another example is the P50 event-related potential, which is interpreted as a physiological substrate for an inability to “gate” or inhibit irrelevant sensory information. Eye movement dysfunction may also be apparent, measured via visual tracking. Click on the tabs below to access all the information, or browse via the drop-down menu on the left. Image: ©vegefox.com – stock.adobe.com

NeuRA Libraries

Title Colour Legend:
Green - Topic summary is available.
Orange - Topic summary is being compiled.
Red - Topic summary has no current systematic review available.