Reduced striatal spine size in schizophrenia: a postmortem ultrastructural study

Numerous studies using in vivo imaging or light microscopic analysis of autopsy specimens have found abnormalities in the striatum of schizophrenics. Striatal tissue from the Maryland Brain Collection with short postmortem intervals was used in the present study. Electron micrographs of striatal neuropil were digitized to determine the area of dendritic spines. Spines were similar in size in both the caudate and the putamen in normal individuals. The spines in tissue from schizophrenics were also similar in size between these two regions. However, striatal spines in schizophrenics were approximately 30% smaller than in controls (p < 0.05). Since the majority of synapses in the striatum are formed with spines, this change in the schizophrenic brain may represent aberrant synaptic conductance and/or efficacy.