Functional and anatomical aspects of prefrontal pathology in schizophrenia

Neuropathology is a field that correlates autopsy findings to clinical symptomatology. Since the brain has an inordinate number of parceled regions, each having a different function, it makes more sense to work in an inverse fashion and use clinical findings to establish pathological correlations. In this regard, a lesion in the prefrontal lobes can explain some of the salient findings in schizophrenia, for example, scrambled language, disordered thinking, and abnormal behavior. Recent quantitative cytoarchitectural observations by Goldman-Rakic and Selemon sustain such a correlation. By using a computerized image analysis system, these authors have described an abnormally high neuronal density and reduced cortical thickness in many of their patients with schizophrenia. The importance of these findings is discussed in terms of the recent schizophrenia literature.