Neuromolecular Imaging Instrumentation Demonstrating Dysfunctional Brain Function in Schizophrenic Patients

Abstract

Schizophrenia is a major mental disorder characterized by functional impairment and the presentation, persistence, and severity of symptoms. Characterized as a brain disorder, the etiology of schizophrenia remains elusive. Nevertheless, neuroimaging modalities have advanced the understanding of the neuroscientific community in regard to the structural and functional abnormalities inherent in the brains of schizophrenics. Neurochemical and molecular strategies are beginning to form a subtle consensus in the biomedical community as to the specificities of the disease on an organic level. Developing our understanding of the micro-abnormalities present in this disorder will allow the medical community to advance our neuropharmological approach to treating, curing, and perhaps preventing the onset of this disabling psychiatric disease.