Genetic insights into the neurodevelopmental hypothesis of schizophrenia

The original neurodevelopmental hypothesis of schizophrenia presented by D. R. Weinberger in 1987 focused on pathogenesis and did not address etiology. Available evidence indicates that genetic factors are the principal cause of schizophrenia. It is Imperative that any pathogenetic model for schizoph renia takes into account what is now known about genetic mechanisms of illn ess. Recent advances In molecular genetics can provide Insights into the ne urodevelopmental expression of the illness and what future genetic discover ies are likely to contribute to our understanding of schizophrenia. In this article, we propose a genetic model of etiopathogenesis that is consistent both with a modified neurodevelopmental hypothesis and our current knowled ge about schizophrenia and molecular genetics.