2.3 Etiological Theories This section covers all etiological theories that have been laid out in relation to the cross-ethnic results in the epidemiology of schizophrenia. I initiate with biological and hereditary genetic factors and then turn to psychosocial explanations. 2.3.1 Biological Explanations Enlarged cerebral ventricles A large number of conducted pathophysiological studies have established through brain scans that schizophrenia is seen in the ventricle of the human brain. Figure 5. Brain Scans of a Normally Functioning Patient and a Schizophrenia Patient
Note: As shown on a coronal MR brain scan, the right brain Coronal MR scans from a normal comparison subject (left), and chronic schizophrenic (right). Note increase in CSF in right amygdala- hippocampal complex (image taken from the Harvard University Schizophrenia Project).
Under an MRI scan, the size of the cerebral ventricle of a schizophrenia patient is much larger than a non sufferer. It has also been suggested that there is a disruption in the functional circuits in brain regions such as the prefrontal cortex of schizophrenia patients (Mueser and McGurk, 2004). These pieces of evidence led neuroimaging 54