Analyzing physical abnormalities in sensory organs can help diagnose complex mental disorders such as schizophrenia, or so Francisco Güell and Javier Bernácer put forward in an article published in Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, a high impact scientific journal. The authors are part of the ICS's Mind-Brain project at the University of Navarra, which the La Caixa's Obra Social funds.

As Drs. Güell and Bernácer explained, "With schizophrenia there are perceptual anomalies whose physical substrate has been searched in the anatomy and function of the brain. We will suggest a possible new approach looking for physical differences directly in the constitution of sense organs rather than impairments in the processing of the signals coded by them. "

According to the experts from the Mind-Brain project, this perspective may be useful in diagnosis to supplement neuroimaging techniques. It could also contribute to "the understanding of the disease's etiology" and "open up new avenues for treatment."

Vision abnormalities in schizophrenia

The authors specifically mention the case of vision in schizophrenia: "Some studies have shown an association between this disorder and abnormalities in visual perception and abnormal movements related to the eye." As an example, they mentioned several recent studies suggesting that these patients suffer from anatomical and functional retinal abnormalities.

Finally, the ICS researchers emphasized that the proposed association is not deterministic: "Even though certain morphological configurations may be related with a disease, they would not necessarily imply that a person is "schizophrenic," or even as being on the "schizophrenic spectrum." Rather, it would point to a constitutional predisposition to suffer the disease, open to various environmental factors."

The 'Mind-Brain' Group is one of eight research projects within the Institute for Culture and Society, the humanities and social sciences research center at the University of Navarra.

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