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Structural brain connectivity as a genetic marker for schizophrenia
- Date:
- November 30, 2015
- Source:
- The JAMA Network Journals
- Summary:
- Schizophrenia has been considered an illness of disrupted brain connectivity since its earliest descriptions. Several studies have suggested brain white matter is affected not only in patients with schizophrenia but also in individuals at increased risk for the disease.
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Schizophrenia has been considered an illness of disrupted brain connectivity since its earliest descriptions. Several studies have suggested brain white matter is affected not only in patients with schizophrenia but also in individuals at increased risk for the disease. Marc M. Bohlken, M.Sc., of University Medical Center Utrecht, the Netherlands, and coauthors investigated whether schizophrenia risk and white matter integrity share common genes. The imaging study included 70 individual twins discordant for schizophrenia (one with, one without) and 130 healthy control twins.
The authors report their analyses suggest that reductions in white matter integrity have genetic overlap with risk for schizophrenia.
"This finding suggests that genes that are relevant for (the development of) structural brain connections are partly overlapping with genes for schizophrenia," the authors note.
Story Source:
Materials provided by The JAMA Network Journals. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
Journal Reference:
- Marc M. Bohlken, Rachel M. Brouwer, René C. W. Mandl, Martijn P. Van den Heuvel, Anna M. Hedman, Marc De Hert, Wiepke Cahn, René S. Kahn, Hilleke E. Hulshoff Pol. Structural Brain Connectivity as a Genetic Marker for Schizophrenia. JAMA Psychiatry, 2015; 1 DOI: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2015.1925
Cite This Page:
The JAMA Network Journals. "Structural brain connectivity as a genetic marker for schizophrenia." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 30 November 2015. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/11/151125113206.htm>.
The JAMA Network Journals. (2015, November 30). Structural brain connectivity as a genetic marker for schizophrenia. ScienceDaily. Retrieved August 22, 2025 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/11/151125113206.htm
The JAMA Network Journals. "Structural brain connectivity as a genetic marker for schizophrenia." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/11/151125113206.htm (accessed August 22, 2025).
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