title: Review of functional and anatomical brain connectivity findings in schizophrenia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We review diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) studies that investigate white matter abnormalities in patients with chronic schizophrenia, first episode schizophrenia, and those who are at genetic risk for developing schizophrenia. Additionally, we include studies that combine DTI and functional MRI (fMRI) to investigate brain connectivity abnormalities.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Schizophrenia is a complex mental disorder with a peak age of onset in early adulthood. Abnormalities in white matter tracts, which connect brain regions into functional networks, are most likely relevant for understanding structural and functional brain abnormalities in schizophrenia. Dysconnectivity between brain regions, in fact, is thought to underlie cognitive abnormalities in schizophrenia but little is known about how alterations at the functional level relate to abnormalities in anatomical connectivity. DTI has become one of the most popular tools in brain research to address such questions. Here we review white matter abnormalities using DTI with the aim of understanding dysconnectivity of brain regions and their implications in schizophrenia.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Advances in DTI and in combining DTI with fMRI provide new insight into anatomical and functional connections in the brain, and for studying dysconnectivity in schizophrenia.
authors: Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. jfitzsimmons@bwh.harvard.edu
authors: Jennifer
authors: J
authors: Fitzsimmons
authors: Marek
authors: M
authors: Kubicki
authors: Martha E
authors: ME
authors: Shenton
mesh_terms: D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000379:methods*; D063132:Connectome; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*