Link Between Psychosis Symptoms and Impaired Information Spread in the Brain

An altered white matter region of the brain was found to limit the brain's conscious access to information, potentially contributing to delusions and other psychotic symptoms of mental health disorders, stated new study published in JNeurosci. Dysfunction in white matter tracts may explain the delusions, which are characteristic of psychiatric disorders like bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.

Berkovitch et al. used MRI to compare the white matter structure and consciousness threshold of healthy adults, bipolar disorder patients with and without psychotic symptoms, and schizophrenia patients.

The consciousness thresholds were significantly increased in patients with psychosis compared to those without the mental health disorder.

Lower thresholds correlated with increased white matter connectivity in long-distance tracts.

The study results revealed that mean altered white matter connectivity does not induce psychosis directly but may affect the consciousness threshold.

Psychosis: Facts and Statistics

• Psychosis is used to describe conditions that affect the mind, where there has been some loss of contact with reality.
• The condition begins when the person is in their late teens to mid-twenties.
• Three out of 100 people will experience psychosis at some time in their lives.
• Alcohol, drug abuse, and medications cause psychosis.
• Psychosis can include hallucinations.

Source-Medindia