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The influence of morphometric changes of gray and white matter on brain functional connectivity in schizophrenia
Görnerová, Natálie ; Horáček, Jiří (advisor) ; Zach, Petr (referee) ; Filip, Pavel (referee)
More than a century has passed since a clear definition for schizophrenia was established, yet, the etiology, neuropathological and pathophysiological mechanisms of this psychiatric disorder still, to a large extent, remain to be elucidated. In the theoretical part of this dissertation, we review current classification and pathophysiology of schizophrenia, paying a particular attention to the findings from structural and functional imaging techniques. These techniques demonstrate that patients with schizophrenia tend to have reduced volume of grey matter, reduced integrity of white matter and a disrupted inter-regional functional connectivity (FC). The temporal association between structural changes, already detectable on imaging before symptoms appear, and development of disrupted FC remains to be uncovered. At the same time, current knowledge does not fully explain the link between disrupted FC and disturbed experience of self-awareness, a core symptom of schizophrenia. In addition, it is necessary to develop novel effective methods to prevent relapse and prevent the progression of neurobiological changes in the brain. In the practical part of this dissertation, we designed a study with three different groups of subjects aiming to fulfil three key aims that would help us to fill the gaps in...
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