20

Bioinformatics of the Brain

and the blood brain-barrier resistance to the diverse types of medicine are

some of the factors contributing to the difficulty of the treatment [142, 143]. At

the population level, primary GBM develops more frequently in males, while

secondary GBM occurs more frequently in females. Primary and secondary

GBM constitute different disease subtypes. People are affected at different

ages and occur through different genetic pathways [144]. There are clinical

and cytogenetic differences between primary and secondary GBM tissues. On

a genetic basis, TP53 mutation is frequently encountered and can be detected

at an early stage [145]. Primary and secondary GBM cannot be distinguished

morphologically, and both have a poor prognosis regardless of the patient’s

age. As in all cancers, tumor cells belonging to GBM tissue show an increase

in the activation of life signals, angiogenesis, uncontrolled proliferation, tissue

invasion, and resistance to apoptosis [146].

Oligodendroglioma develops from neoplastic oligodendrocytes responsible

for myelin production [147]. Oligodendroglioma is low stage, anaplastic, and

about half is associated with astrocytoma and is defined as a mixed type.

About one-third of oligodendrogliomas show malignant degeneration, which

is then called oligodendroblastoma, but rarely becomes GBM [133]. Most of

these tumors occur deep in the white matter of the frontal and temporal lobes,

but also in the cerebrum, third ventricle, brain stem, cerebellum, and spinal

cord. These tumors grow slowly, but at the time of clinical manifestation

of symptoms, they are quite large, well-defined and can be diagnosed by X-

ray. Partial removal of the tumor and radiotherapy are used together in the

treatment of oligodendroglioma [148].

1.8

Neuropsychiatric Disorders

Neuropsychology is the branch of science that deals with how psychological

phenomena correspond to the systems in the brain. As a sub-branch, clin-

ical/applied neuropsychology deals with how neurological disorders in the

brain affect the psychological functionality and how this functionality can be

corrected through neuropsychological rehabilitation [149]. The brain-behavior

relationship is quite complex [150]. No psychiatric disease has a specific local-

ization, but loops involving certain neuroanatomical regions can be mentioned.

It is possible to see relatively similar psychiatric and behavioral “symptoms”

in diseases involving certain regions of the brain [151].

Cognitive, emotional, and behavioral functioning of the individual should

all be considered while discussing neuropsychological functionality. For in-

stance, a person with any kind of damage to the prefrontal cortex, which

is part of the brain’s frontal lobe, will have issues with both cognitive and

psychosocial functioning [152]. While patients with frontal lobe damage can

perform close to healthy individuals in traditional neuropsychological tests,