Meeting Banner
Abstract #3590

Altered White Matter Myelination in Chronic Schizophrenia

Mariana Lazar1, Dolores Malaspina2, Laura Miles1, Ali-mohammad Golestani1, Nicole Peccerelli1

1Department of Radiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States; 2Department of Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States


DTI literature widely reports reduced fractional anisotropy (FA) in schizophrenia. However, the underlying white matter pathophysiology remains unclear as differences in FA can stem from a variety of causes including differences in myelination and fiber density and geometry. In this study we employed Diffusion Kurtosis Imaging in conjunction with a newly proposed two-compartment white matter diffusion model to evaluate differences in axonal density and myelination in chronic schizophrenia. Our results suggest atypical myelination as a pervasive pathophysiological feature of the disorder. Fiber density does not appear to be significantly affected in this population.