Jyothika Kumar1, Emma L Hall2, Siân E Robson2, Carolina Fernandes2, Elizabeth B Liddle1, Matthew J Brookes2, Lena Palaniyappan1, Peter G Morris2, and Peter F Liddle1
1Centre for Translational Neuroimaging, Division of Psychiatry and Applied Psychology, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom, 2Sir Peter Mansfield Imaging Centre, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom
Various theories of neurochemical
dysfunction in schizophrenia have been proposed. Using 7T MR spectroscopy, we
aim to investigate abnormalities in the antioxidant and glutamatergic systems
in patients with schizophrenia and whether there is a relationship between the
two. We found reduced levels of glutathione in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC)
in patients with residual schizophrenia indicating a reduction in the brain’s
antioxidant defences accompanied by reduced levels of glutamate and glutamine.
A positive correlation between glutathione and glutamate was observed in the
ACC in all participants indicating a mechanistic link between these two systems.
