Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Spectroscopy in Schizophrenia

Abstract

In this new era of structural and functional neuroimaging technologies, it is the unsurpassed anatomical resolution of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) (Andreasen, 1989; and Besson, this supplement) that has resulted in a new generation of studies on cerebral morphology in schizophrenia. With the recent development of whole-body magnets of very high (⩾ 1.5T) and uniform field strength, it has become possible to extend the scope of this approach to include measurement of certain fundamental neurochemical processes, via magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS: Hubeschet al, 1989; Locket al, this supplement). The purpose of this article is to introduce and review critically the existing literature on the application of MRI and MRS to schizophrenia, and to give a preliminary account of some of our own recent studies in these areas.