Density and distribution of white matter neurons in schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder: no evidence for abnormalities of neuronal migration

The neurodevelopmental hypothesis of schizophrenia suggests that this disorder may result from a disruption of normal brain development. While widely cited, neuropathological evidence for this is far from conclusive. Alterations in the density and position of white matter neurons have been previously described in the frontal and temporal lobes and have led to suggestions that abnormal neuronal migration may play a role in the aetiology of schizophrenia. However, these findings have not been replicated. Furthermore, developmental abnormalities may not be specific to schizophrenia. The aim of this study was to examine the density and spatial pattern distribution of white matter neurons in psychiatric and control subjects using sophisticated computerised image analysis techniques. White matter neurons immunoreactive for microtubule associated protein-2 were quantified in the frontal lobe in schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder and matched controls (each group n = 15). Analysis showed that the density and spatial distribution of white matter neurons did not differ significantly between the control and psychiatric groups. This study cannot replicate the earlier findings of white matter abnormalities in schizophrenia and finds no evidence for abnormal brain development in any of the disorders studied.