Researchers have found evidence that the neurons of people with schizophrenia may have unique differences in thickness and curvature, and that it is even responsible for some of their symptoms.
The finding comes from an analysis of only a small handful of donors, and it goes a long way to demonstrating how contrasting nerve cell structures can explain the neurological condition.
But as our understanding of these unusual traits grows, it can lead to better treatment methods, helping to give tens of millions of people a better quality of life.
The study, led by researchers at Tokai University in Japan, used two different X-ray microscope technologies, one at the SPring-8 light source facility in Japan, and the other at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Photon Source (APS). ).
Both accelerate particles along curved paths in the so-called synchrotron, causing them to shed short wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation into the X-ray portion of the spectrum.
Using X-rays as a radiation source to photograph fine details of small objects – such as neurons – can be a double-edged sword.
On the one hand, their tight wavelengths are just the thing to capture every buckle and tissue of a cell’s membrane. The APS has a resolution of up to 10 nanometers, a scale that brings it remarkably close to the texture of individual protein channels that contain a cell membrane.
Seen from enough angles, it is possible to reconstruct neurons as high-definition, three-dimensional sites.
Unfortunately, as small as neurons, they are also quite long. Tracing every bump of their surface is tedious to work if you have to crawl whole millimeters of their body.
“The sample must move through the X-ray to detect the neurons through the sample,” said Vincent De Andrade, a physicist in Argonne’s X-ray science division.
“The field of view of our X-ray microscope is about 50 microns, about the width of a human hair, and you have to follow these neurons by a few millimeters.”
The team took samples of tissue from a selected part of the brain in four deceased people diagnosed with schizophrenia, and four without, and the team undertook the tedious work of scanning nerve cells using the two different synchrotron- facilities.
The images were combined to reconstruct the neurons as digital models, which contributed to a larger data set that could be statistically compared and contrasted in search of distinctive features.
They found that the thickness and curvature of cellular properties extending from the neuron’s body differed significantly between individuals with schizophrenia, compared with those without the condition.
These variations can affect how neurons transmit messages across their lengths, possibly explaining the characteristics of the disease, which include hallucinations, impaired motor control, and errors.
Exactly what lies behind such abnormalities in cellular geometry, or the variations extend to the synaptic ‘tones’ of the neuron, will require even more details than the current generation of synchrotrons can manage.
That may change when the APS receives an upgrade of US $ 815 million in the next few years, which will result in it delivering 500 times brighter X-rays than it currently releases.
“The APS upgrade will allow for better sensitivity and resolution for imaging, making the process of mapping neurons in the brain faster and more accurate,” says De Andrade.
“We need resolutions of more than 10 nanometers to capture synaptic connections, which is the holy grail for a comprehensive mapping of neurons, and this must be achievable with the upgrade.”
Compiling the mechanisms behind the development of schizophrenia is a complex process that requires advanced imaging and computational technology.
We gradually learn the multitude of genetic and environmental factors that see the brain change while it is still in the womb, and continue to shift as a child becomes an adult.
If there are ways it can be spotted and treated early, we can help limit the worst traits, which can cause the danger of a serious mental illness.
This research was published in Translational Psychiatry.