In a major step forward in the diagnosis and treatment of schizophrenia, researchers have discovered that its symptoms are linked to the brain's anatomical characteristics.

"The current study provides further evidence that schizophrenia is a heterogeneous group of disorders, as opposed to a single illness, as was previously thought to be case," said one of the researchers Igor Zwir from University of Granada in Spain.

In order to carry out the study, the researchers employed a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique called "diffusion tensor imaging" on 36 healthy participants and 47 schizophrenic participants.

The tests conducted on the schizophrenic participants revealed that they had various abnormalities in certain parts of their corpus callosum, a bundle of neural fibres that connects the right and left cerebral hemispheres and is considered essential for effective inter-hemispheric communication.

When the researchers detected anomalies in the brain's entire corpus callosum, they discovered that certain characteristic features revealed in the brain scans coincided with specific schizophrenic symptoms.