White matter microstructure reveals the risk of developing psychosis

"This work provides insights into the fundamental changes that occur during development of the white matter junction that connects the thalamus and cortex, and how young people with symptoms of the psychosis spectrum develop different patterns and may develop mental disorders
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White matter refers to the part of the brain composed of fat and myelinated axons, which can transmit information in various areas of the brain
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In the current study, Dr.
Avery and colleagues examined the data of 1,144 participants between the ages of 8 and 22; 316 were typically developed, while the rest had symptoms of psychosis or other psychopathology
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Dr.
Avery said, “It’s somewhat surprising that our results show that the white matter structural tracts are relatively stable throughout the typical developmental process, and this is also true in children with a higher risk of mental illness, which shows that we are in Structural defects that are often found in mentally ill patients may occur at a later time, close to the onset of the disease, or may be limited to those who will develop a mental disorder
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However, when the author examined the white matter at the microstructure level, she said, “We found that the microstructural integrity of the white matter tracts increased significantly during development, especially in the tracts that connect the thalamus to the prefrontal and posterior parietal cortex
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Dr.
Avery added: “This suggests that abnormal developmental processes, such as defects in white matter myelination, play a key role in the risk of cognitive deficits and psychosis
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Cameron Carter, MD and editor of Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging, said: "This important study complements the author's previous work on the functional connectivity of the thalamic cortical tract in psychosis, mapping out these serious and Anatomical diagrams of the brain function of painful symptoms
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Journal Reference :

1. Suzanne N.