Open Access

Morphological alterations of the pyramidal and stellate cells of the visual cortex in schizophrenia

  • Authors:
    • Ioannis Mavroudis
    • Foivos Petrides
    • Dimitrios Kazis
    • Symela Chatzikonstantinou
    • Eleni Karantali
    • Alin Ciobica
    • Alin-Constantin Iordache
    • Romeo Dobrin
    • Constantin Trus
    • Samuel Njau
    • Vasiliki Costa
    • Stavros Baloyannis
  • View Affiliations

  • Published online on: April 22, 2021     https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2021.10101
  • Article Number: 669
  • Copyright: © Mavroudis et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License.

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Abstract

Schizophrenia is a severe brain disorder characterized by certain types of delusion, hallucination and thought disorder. Studies have revealed impaired synaptic plasticity and reduced gamma‑aminobutyric acid levels of the visual cortex in patients with schizophrenia. While previous work established a critical role for interneurons and cortical connectivity in the generation of hallucinations, the present study set out to examine the morphology of pyramidal cells and interneurons from layers 3 and 4 in the primary visual cortex from schizophrenic brains and to identify any dendritic and spinal alterations in comparison to normal control brains. The morphological and morphometric changes of the pyramidal cells and the interneurons of the visual cortices of 10 brains obtained from patients with schizophrenia, in comparison to 10 age‑matched controls, were studied using the Golgi method and 3D neuronal reconstruction techniques. Analysis using the Golgi impregnation technique revealed a significant loss of distal dendritic segments, tortuous branches and varicosities and an overall restriction of the dendritic field in the brains of schizophrenic patients in both pyramidal cells and in aspiny interneurons. The present results may explain certain clinical phenomena associated with the visual cortex usually encountered in schizophrenia.
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July-2021
Volume 22 Issue 1

Print ISSN: 1792-0981
Online ISSN:1792-1015

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Spandidos Publications style
Mavroudis I, Petrides F, Kazis D, Chatzikonstantinou S, Karantali E, Ciobica A, Iordache A, Dobrin R, Trus C, Njau S, Njau S, et al: Morphological alterations of the pyramidal and stellate cells of the visual cortex in schizophrenia. Exp Ther Med 22: 669, 2021
APA
Mavroudis, I., Petrides, F., Kazis, D., Chatzikonstantinou, S., Karantali, E., Ciobica, A. ... Baloyannis, S. (2021). Morphological alterations of the pyramidal and stellate cells of the visual cortex in schizophrenia. Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine, 22, 669. https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2021.10101
MLA
Mavroudis, I., Petrides, F., Kazis, D., Chatzikonstantinou, S., Karantali, E., Ciobica, A., Iordache, A., Dobrin, R., Trus, C., Njau, S., Costa, V., Baloyannis, S."Morphological alterations of the pyramidal and stellate cells of the visual cortex in schizophrenia". Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine 22.1 (2021): 669.
Chicago
Mavroudis, I., Petrides, F., Kazis, D., Chatzikonstantinou, S., Karantali, E., Ciobica, A., Iordache, A., Dobrin, R., Trus, C., Njau, S., Costa, V., Baloyannis, S."Morphological alterations of the pyramidal and stellate cells of the visual cortex in schizophrenia". Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine 22, no. 1 (2021): 669. https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2021.10101