Figure 1.

Hypothesized models of developmental WM changes across the different stages of schizophrenia, compared to healthy WM changes across the lifespan. 1. Typical development: this line represents the predicted normal trajectory of white matter changes across the lifespan, with a peak in early adulthood (Peters et al., 2014; Peters et al., 2012). 2. Neurotoxic model: this line represents the trajectory according to a model in which the disease state is itself neurotoxic, resulting in white matter decline after onset. 3. Neurodevelopmental model: this model shows early alterations in the neurodevelopmental trajectory, resulting in lower white matter integrity that persists across adulthood, although the trajectory in adulthood follows a normal slope and curvature. 4. Neurodevelopmental model with later decline: this model includes both early differences in the developmental trajectory, as well as continuing decline after onset, which may be due to medication effects, disease toxicity, or an alteration in aging effects.