London (dpa) - The main sensory filter in the brain is smaller in schizophrenics which helps to explain why sufferers get so confused, according to new research.

The sensor, called the thalamus, acts as the brain's filter receiving and relaying information to other parts of the body. With a smaller filter schizophrenics become bewildered and suffer information overload in one particular area.

The smaller sized sensor can be detected in the very first stages of schizophrenia, according to the research carried out by the Institute of Psychiatry, which is based at the Maudsley Hospital and is part of King's College, London.

The researchers tested 29 healthy people and 38 schizophrenic sufferers using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Dr Tonmoy Sharma, who led the study, said: "If you think of the brain in terms of networks, it is like making a phone call when the line is not connected properly, the call can't be made, or you may get through to the wrong person.

It is the same in the brain. If there are problems with the connections, information will not be passed to the correct regions. The ability to filter and process information is vital for leading a normal life." The findings are in this month's edition of the American Journal of Psychiatry.

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