WHAT HAPPENS IN THE BRAIN OF SCHIZOPHRENIA PATIENTS?: AN INVESTIGATION FROM THE VIEWPOINT OF NEUROPATHOLOGY

Studies that seek to determine the etiology of schizophrenia through pathological images and morphological abnormalities of the brain have been conducted since the era of E. Kraepelin, and pioneers in neuropathology such as A. Alzheimer have also eagerly pursued such studies. However, there have been no disease-specific findings, and there was a brief era in which it was said that "schizophrenia is the graveyard of neuropathologists." However, since the 1980s, neuroimaging studies with CT and MRI etc., have been used in many reports of cases of schizophrenia with abnormal brain morphology, thus generating renewed interest in developments within brain tissue and leading to new neuropathological studies. There are now many reports in which, in addition to morphological observations, cell distribution and the like are image-processed and statistically processed through computers. Due to methodological problems in making progress in the field of cerebral pathology, we have not yet been able to observe disease-specific findings, although there are several findings with high certainty. However, the neurodevelopmental hypothesis has been supported as being able to reasonably explain the accumulated findings of previous studies. At the same time, results of recent molecular-biological studies have revealed the risk genes for this disease, and because many of those genes are associated with functions related to nerve differentiation, development, and plasticity, there is growing interest in their correlations with cerebral pathology. We are now on the verge of uncovering the etiology of this disease by integrating cerebral neuroimaging, molecular genetics, and cerebral neuropathology. In that sense, neuropathological studies of this disease from new viewpoints have become essential.