Psychosis symptoms linked to impaired information spread in the brain
Psychosis symptoms linked to impaired information spread in the brain
Berkovitch et al. used MRI to compare the white matter structure and consciousness threshold of healthy adults, bipolar disorder patients with and without psychotic symptoms, and schizophrenia patients. The consciousness threshold corresponds to how long a visual stimulus must be presented on a screen to be broadcasted across the brain and become conscious—the shorter it is, the better the conscious access. Thresholds were significantly increased in patients with psychosis compared to those without. Across all participants, lower thresholds correlated with greater white matter connectivity in long distance tracts.
These results mean altered white matter connectivity does not induce psychosis directly, but may through its effect on the consciousness threshold.
More information:
Disruption of Conscious Access in Psychosis Is Associated With Altered Structural Brain Connectivity, JNeurosci, DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0945-20.2020
Citation:
Psychosis symptoms linked to impaired information spread in the brain (2020, November 23)
retrieved 23 November 2020
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