Evidence for the involvement of the hippocampus in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia

The hippocampus, a medial temporal lobe structure, is often considered to p lay an important role in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. Recent devel opments of neuroimaging and molecular postmortem techniques have significan tly increased our ability to study the role of discrete brain regions in th e pathophysiology of schizophrenia. This article describes animal models, s tructural, histological, molecular biology, and neuropsychological evidence for the involvement of the hippocampus in the pathophysiology of schizophr enia. The major findings in schizophrenic patients are decreased volumes, h ypometabolism, and cytoarchitectural abnormalities which are more robust on the left hippocampus, as well as verbal memory impairment. It is yet to be determined whether these changes are neurodevelopmental or neurodegenerati ve in nature. Overall, these findings indicate that there are subtle change s in the hippocampus of schizophrenic patients. More comprehensive and focu sed hippocampal research in schizophrenia is required to elucidate the cont ribution of this intriguing brain structure to the pathophysiology of schiz ophrenia. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.