The brain changes seen in psychiatric patients are likely a result of the disease's progression or treatment rather than the genetic risk factors they were born with.

Researchers have long searched for the specific physical signatures in the brain that match up with the genetic mutations that cause mental illness. A massive comparison of brain scans shows that these genetic risk factors and the actual clinical diagnoses look nothing alike. The thinning or shape changes in the cortex of a patient with schizophrenia do not match the brain patterns of people who have the same genetic risk but no symptoms. This suggests that the psychiatric brain is a product of the struggle with the illness itself rather than a predetermined genetic blueprint. This shift in thinking emphasizes the importance of early intervention to prevent these physical changes from ever occurring.