Preliminary Study of Cerebral Myelin Content Alterations at Schizophrenia

At the moment, the study of the association of different brain areas with schizophrenia is a thriving field of research. Although the precise mechanisms underlying the development of schizophrenia remain not fully understood, ongoing research enhances our understanding of which areas of the brain may be associated with various symptoms and behavioral disturbances in patients with the disease. Pathological changes in the brain may be accompanied by a decrease in the level of myelin. The results obtained in the present study support the hypothesis of an association between brain myelination and the development of schizophrenia. The present study revealed reduced myelination in the number of areas which can be divided into several groups based on common features. In our work, significant changes were found in the following areas of the brain: Heschl’s Gyrus (includes H1 and H2), Postcentral Gyrus, Lateral Occipital Cortex superior division, Frontal Pole, Paracingulate Gyrus, Inferior frontal gyrus, Middle frontal gyrus. In the future, the results of the study can be used to create a non-invasive quantitative marker of schizophrenia. This will allow, on the one hand, to characterize the current stage of the disease of a particular patient in terms of myelination abnormalities, and on the other hand, it can help shed light on the etiology of this disease.