Schizophrenia is a neurodevelopmental illness that is thought to originate early in life, when the brain’s gyrification (folding) process is at its peak.
Some studies have suggested that gyrification may also be reduced in schizophrenia, particularly in early adulthood.
It is unclear if this reduction in gyrification has any impact on the course of the illness.
In this study, 108 minimally medicated schizophrenia patients and 106 healthy controls had structural MRIs obtained.
34 of the patients were re-scanned after receiving treatment.
Results showed that schizophrenia patients had higher gyrification in certain areas of the brain at the beginning of the illness, but those with lower gyrification at the start and during the early course of the illness had poorer outcomes.
The reduction in gyrification that occurred early in the illness was limited in scope, but was distinct from the thinning of the cortex and had prognostic importance.
