Schizotypal Forum

Introduction to the Topic
There is ample evidence from family and genetic studies to suggest that schizophrenia is related to a less severe diagnosis known as “Schizotypal Personality Disorder” (SPD). The criteria for SPD share many of the criteria for a diagnosis of schizophrenia, including a pervasive pattern of disruption in social relationships, unusual sensations and perceptions, odd beliefs not consistent with cultural norms (“magical thinking”) and a restricted range of emotional expressivity. Unlike schizophrenia, however, SPD is generally not chronically debilitating, does not involved frank hallucinations or significant cognitive impairments, and rarely benefits from the use of anti-psychotic medications. These observations have prompted some to speak of a “schizophrenia spectrum”, described as a range of deficits that extend from mild to severe, likely related to altered anatomy of similar brain structures.

The authors found that, like in schizophrenia, the UF showed reduced neural organization in SPD as compared to controls, and this disorganization correlated with certain symptoms and cognitive impairments. Unlike in schizophrenia, however, the CB showed overall no significant difference in white matter organization in SPD vs. controls, though there were some suggestions that some of the subjects with SPD had mild disorganization that correlated with mild deficits in cognitive function – it is a common finding in (expensive) imaging studies that there are not enough subjects to be sure that very small differences are “real” or simply due to normal and expected variation between subjects.

Together, these data support a “continuum” model of psychosis, with SPD sufferers having mildly impaired connectivity in the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain (only the UF being affected) and subsequently only mild symptoms, while people with schizophrenia have more impaired connectivity (UF and CB) and more severe symptoms.