Multimodal neuroimaging as a window into the pathological physiology of schizophrenia: Current trends and issues

Abstract

Visualizing the detailed brain anatomy of individuals with schizophrenia has been made possible by recent advances in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Although structural MRI cannot be currently used to diagnose schizophrenia, multimodal MRI can reveal insightful information on key clinical aspects of the pathological physiology of schizophrenia. However, in this regard, the number of multimodal MRI studies is still limited and definitely required. In this review, we discuss how classical and popular theories on the pathological physiology of schizophrenia can be re-examined using neuroimaging studies, and also discuss how multimodal MRI studies may provide additional findings. The pathological hypotheses examined include the "progressive brain disease hypothesis" and "disconnection hypothesis". This article is discussed mainly based on recent findings published by our research group.

Keywords: Cortical thickness; Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI); Disconnection hypothesis; Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI); Multimodal neuroimaging; Progressive brain disease hypothesis; Schizophrenia.