Neuroimaging studies in schizophrenia: an overview of research from Asia

Neuroimaging studies in schizophrenia help clarify the neural substrates underlying the pathogenesis of this neuropsychiatric disorder. Contemporary brain imaging in schizophrenia is predominated by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based research approaches. This review focuses on the various imaging studies from India and their relevance to the understanding of brain abnormalities in schizophrenia. The existing studies are predominantly comprised of structural MRI reports involving region-of-interest and voxel-based morphometry approaches, magnetic resonance spectroscopy and single-photon emission computed tomography/positron emission tomography (SPECT/PET) studies. Most of these studies are significant in that they have evaluated antipsychotic-naïve schizophrenia patients--a relatively difficult population to obtain in contemporary research. Findings of these studies offer robust support to the existence of significant brain abnormalities at very early stages of the disorder. In addition, theoretically relevant relationships between these brain abnormalities and developmental aberrations suggest possible neurodevelopmental basis for these brain deficits.