There is increasing evidence of a disturbance in white matter in schizophrenia. Several specialized imaging methods,diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), magnetization transfer imaging, T2 relaxography (T2R), have demonstrated abnormalities in the white matter of patients with schizophrenia. In addition, postmortem work has pointed to myelin-related gene disturbances in SZ and disruption of oligodendrocytes, the cells which produce and support myelin in the central nervous system (CMS). Our recent work has demonstrated evidence of greater white matter abnormalities in chronic compared with first episode patients suggesting that there may be a progression of white matter disturbance early in the illness. Associations between DTI measures and neurocognitive function have also been demonstrated. In this competitive renewal, we propose to extend our prior work with the following aims: 1. Broaden the understanding of WM abnormalities in SZ by comparing the sensitivity of three WM imaging methods (DTI, MTI, and T2R) in patients with SZ compared to healthy control subjects (CTL). 2. Using a cross-sectional design, examine the relationship between age (duration of illness) and WM abnormalities. 3. Using a longitudinal design, examine WM changes in a sample of early episode patients with SZ. 4. Examine the relationship between WM abnormalities in SZ and neurocognitive function.
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