The brain is composed of grey matter, made of cell bodies; white matter, the axons that connect the cell bodies and create synapses; and ventricles, fluid-containing spaces that allow for circulation of the cerebrospinal fluid. When you lose brain tissue, you have bigger ventricles, and a cardinal feature of schizophrenia is enlargement of the lateral ventricles. While autism is characterized by an overabundance of synaptic connectivity, schizophrenia is marked by a dearth of it. People with schizophrenia also have fewer dendritic spines, which form synapses, and fewer interneurons, a type of
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