Torrey E Fuller
Stanley Medical Research Institute, 5430 Grosvenor Lane, Suite 200, Bethesda, MD 20814-2142, USA.
Schizophr Res. 2002 Dec 1;58(2-3):101-15. doi: 10.1016/s0920-9964(02)00381-x.
A review of 65 studies of individuals with schizophrenia who had never been treated with antipsychotic medications indicates significant abnormalities in brain structure and function. Neurological and neuropsychological measures show the most consistent and largest group differences between those affected and normal controls. Measures of structural differences and cerebral metabolic function are significant but less impressive. Electrophysiological differences also are found, but most such studies are older and have methodological problems. The brain abnormalities implicate a variety of interrelated brain regions, primarily the medial temporal, prefrontal, thalamic, and basal ganglia areas. It is concluded that schizophrenia is a brain disease in the same sense that Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis are, and that the brain abnormalities in schizophrenia are inherent in the disease process and not medication-related. The challenge for the future is to use the new molecular techniques to study these brain areas and elevate our understanding of schizophrenia's etiology to the next level.
一项针对65项关于从未接受过抗精神病药物治疗的精神分裂症患者的研究综述表明，其大脑结构和功能存在显著异常。神经学和神经心理学测量显示，患者组与正常对照组之间存在最一致且最大的差异。结构差异和脑代谢功能测量结果虽有显著差异，但不太明显。也发现了电生理差异，但大多数此类研究年代较久且存在方法学问题。大脑异常涉及多个相互关联的脑区，主要是内侧颞叶、前额叶、丘脑和基底神经节区域。得出的结论是，精神分裂症与帕金森病和多发性硬化症一样，是一种脑部疾病，精神分裂症中的大脑异常是疾病过程所固有的，而非与药物相关。未来的挑战是利用新的分子技术研究这些脑区，并将我们对精神分裂症病因的理解提升到一个新的水平。
