Abstract

Brain imaging correlates of emerging schizophrenia

Author(s): Tim Ehlkes, Patricia T Michie, Ulrich Schall

The early detection of the schizophrenia prodrome in young people considered ‘at-risk‘ of developing this severe mental illness has entered mainstream clinical practice despite the limitations in the predictive specificity of the clinical criteria that define the At-Risk Mental State syndrome. These limitations are increasingly addressed by brain imaging research, which has added substantial evidence to the notion of emerging and progressive gray and white matter abnormalities in the early phase of illness. The association of the apparent neuropathology with the clinical signs and symptoms of the disorder – along with cognitive impairment and the underlying pathophysiology – will be reviewed.