Modularity and maturation of brain networks in childhood-onset schizophrenia

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• Aaron Alexander-Bloch, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge
• Tuesday 28 May 2013, 11:00-12:00
• MRC CBU lecture theatre, 15 Chaucer Road.

If you have a question about this talk, please contact Mikail Rubinov.

Schizophrenia is increasingly understood to target the development of brain connectivity. A property of particular interest is the modularity or community structure of brain networks, which can be derived from structural or functional MRI . Modules or sub-communities of brain regions possess unusually high within-community connectivity and low between-community connectivity. Theoretically, the modularity of networks has been linked to their successful evolution and development, suggesting altered modularity as a possible mechanism for neurodevelopmental disease. Childhood-onset schizophrenia, which begins before age 13 and is approximately 100 times less frequent than adult-onset schizophrenia, represents a unique opportunity to test this hypothesis in a developing population. Our research suggests that fMRI brain networks of people with COS do indeed have altered modular structure, with relatively decreased short-distance, intra-modular functional connectivity. This hypothesis is also supported by structural imaging studies. Longitudinal brain imaging of typically developing children demonstrates modules of regions that show synchronized maturation of cortical thickness, and altered maturational trajectories in COS appear within specific developmental modules.

This talk is part of the Brain Mapping Unit Networks Meeting and the Cambridge Connectome Consortium series.

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• Brain Mapping Unit Networks Meeting and the Cambridge Connectome Consortium
• Department of Psychiatry talks stream
• MRC CBU lecture theatre, 15 Chaucer Road

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