SynthesisSchizophrenia bulletin2020
Synapse Pathology in Schizophrenia: A Meta-analysis of Postsynaptic Elements in Postmortem Brain Studies.
Synthesis in Schizophrenia bulletin, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 102 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
102 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Molecular and topographic mapping of antipsychotic effects: a meta-analysis of postsynaptic density proteins in animal models with translational implications.Molecular psychiatry · 2026Pooled it
- Transdiagnostic reduction in cortical choline-containing compounds in anxiety disorders: aMolecular psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- A systematic review and meta-analysis of neuroimaging studies examining synaptic density in individuals with psychotic spectrum disorders.BMC psychiatry · 2024Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Alterations in brain synaptic proteins and mRNAs in mood disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis of postmortem brain studies.Molecular psychiatry · 2022Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Widespread synaptic density loss in schizophrenia follows molecular and network architecture.Molecular psychiatry · 2026Article
- Convergent multidimensional neural phenotypes in human patients and schizophrenia-relevant mouse models identify reduced recurrent excitation in cortical circuits.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2026Article
- Loss of schizophrenia risk gene XPO7 disrupts neuronal excitability and network regularity via altered NaMolecular psychiatry · 2026Article
- Schizophrenia Spectrum Biomarkers Consortium: Establishment of a Biorepository for the Discovery of Quantitative Fluid Biomarkers.Schizophrenia bulletin · 2026Article
- Cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers reveal transdiagnostic synaptic dysfunction across major psychiatric disorders.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Schizophrenia and disordered sensorimotor control: challenges, mechanisms and opportunities.Brain : a journal of neurology · 2026Review
- Exploration of Genetic Overlap of Brain Phenotypes With Schizophrenia: Different Methods Provide Complementary Insights.Schizophrenia bulletin · 2026Article
- The Molecular Machinery of Synaptic Plasticity and Its Potential Role in the Aetiology of Schizophrenia.Molecular neurobiology · 2026Review
- Primary cilia and neural computation.Journal of biomedical science · 2026Review
- Whole brain grey matter synaptic terminal density, age and intellectual functioning in schizophrenia: an in vivo [Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026Article
- From neuroinflammation to neural inference: computational psychiatry meets precision medicine.Schizophrenia (Heidelberg, Germany) · 2026Review
- Dynamic Fusion of Genomics and Functional Network Connectivity in UK Biobank Reveals Schizophrenia-Related SNP Manifolds.Human brain mapping · 2026Article
- Stress and synaptic density in psychosis and clinical high risk: evidence from [Translational psychiatry · 2026Article
42 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Changed synapse density has been suggested to be involved in the altered brain connectivity underlying schizophrenia (SCZ) pathology. However, postmortem studies addressing this topic are heterogeneous and it is not known whether changes are restricted to specific brain regions. Using meta-analysis, we systematically and quantitatively reviewed literature on the density of postsynaptic elements in postmortem brain tissue of patients with SCZ compared to healthy controls. We included 3 outcome measurements for postsynaptic elements: dendritic spine density (DSD), postsynaptic density (PSD) number, and PSD protein expression levels. Random-effects meta-analysis (31 studies) revealed an overall decrease in density of postsynaptic elements in SCZ (Hedges's g: -0.33; 95% CI: -0.60 to -0.05; P = .020). Subgroup analyses showed reduction of postsynaptic elements in cortical but not subcortical tissues (Hedges's g: -0.44; 95% CI: -0.76 to -0.12; P = .008, Hedges's g: -0.11; 95% CI: -0.54 to 0.35; P = .671) and specifically a decrease for the outcome measure DSD (Hedges's g: -0.81; 95% CI: -1.37 to -0.26; P = .004). Further exploratory analyses showed a significant decrease of postsynaptic elements in the prefrontal cortex and cortical layer 3. In all analyses, substantial heterogeneity was present. Meta-regression analyses showed no influence of age, sex, postmortem interval, or brain bank on the effect size. This meta-analysis shows a region-specific decrease in the density of postsynaptic elements in SCZ. This phenotype provides an important cellular hallmark for future preclinical and neuropathological research in order to increase our understanding of brain dysconnectivity in SCZ.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.