Neuropsychiatric Update: Neuroimaging Schizophrenia

Neuroimaging has revitalized the quest for the neurobiology of schizophrenia. The various neuroimaging modalities used in research are described including CT, MRI, PET, SPECT, fMRI, and DTI. Prominent and consistent neuroanatomical findings in the neuroimaging literature of schizophrenia are outlined. These findings, including enlargement of the lateral ventricles, undersized superior temporal gyrus, and prefrontal abnormalities, are supported with neuropathological studies of schizophrenia. Additionally, these findings are correlated with the clinical symptoms of schizophrenia. Neurochemical imaging studies of schizophrenia are reviewed and noted to support dopaminergic dysregulation consistent with the dopamine hypothesis. Finally, current and near-future clinical uses of neuroimaging are described.