Mesoprefrontal dopamine neurons and schizophrenia: Role of developmental abnormalities

Schizophrenia is characterized by a complex array of symptoms that include hallucinations, delusions, abnormal affect, and cognitive deficits. It is b ecoming increasingly apparent that the symptoms of the disorder are paralle led by equally complex functional and structural abnormalities In brain reg ions such as the temporal lobe, prefrontal cortex, and thalamus. In additio n, the delayed onset of symptoms in late adolescence/early adulthood sugges ts that abnormal development of the nervous system may ultimately contribut e to the neurobiology of the disorder. The present review focuses on clinic al and basic research that, together, suggests abnormal development of the dopamine (DA) innervation of prefrontal cortex plays a role in the cognitiv e deficits of schizophrenia.