Aberrant Frontal and Temporal Complex Network Structure in Schizophrenia: A Graph Theoretical Analysis

Brain regions are not independent. They are interconnected by white matter tracts, together forming one integrative complex network. The topology of this network is crucial for efficient information integration between brain regions. Here, we demonstrate that schizophrenia involves an aberrant topology of the structural infrastructure of the brain network. Using graph theoretical analysis, complex structural brain networks of 40 schizophrenia patients and 40 human healthy controls were examined. Diffusion tensor imaging was used to reconstruct the white matter connections of the brain network, with the strength of the connections defined as the level of myelination of the tracts as measured through means of…